Faking It
by Keegan Elizabeth
Summary: This was probably why you were taught in kindergarten to never tell a lie –because it usually led to no good. GSR with a whole lot of Greg thrown in...intrigued? Read on...
1. Chapter 1

A/N1: First, I want to thank Grace (**graciebutterfliedgsr**) for the help in the beta department! Second, if you read Memories, then you know I said I needed a break. Well, either my muse did not get the memo or she refused to listen. So, yeah, this story was in my head and I began writing it because it wouldn't quit bugging me (hence, I have yet to study… the absolute horror, I know).

A/N2: This fic is dedicated to my lovely Norwegian friend, Veronika (**22114**), because she's awesome.

A/N3: For this story, I'm going by the philosophy of TWT (Timeline? What Timeline?). I will say that Greg is a CSI though…

Disclaimer: I hereby claim (under complete duress) no ownership of CSI.

* * *

_Monday Night…_

"You have one new message," the automated voice stated out loud. Clicking the button to open the email on his computer, Greg began reading…

_Dear Greg,  
_

_I hope this email finds you in good health. I hope you're taking care of yourself. I worry about you in that big city, you know._

_Your grandfather and I have some great news. We won two free tickets to Las Vegas! We're so excited to get to see you! We'll be arriving Thursday, and we'll leave Sunday. Oh, it will be so great to see you after so long. _

_We miss you and love you so very much. I'm attaching a copy of our flight itinerary. Do you think you'll be able to pick us up at the airport?_

_Love, _

_Nana Olaf_

_P.S. We're looking forward to meeting your lovely fiancée._

Quickly, he typed a short response back.

_Nana,_

_I only have a moment but I wanted to let you know that, of course, I'll be there to pick you and Papa Olaf up at the airport._

_Love,_

_Greg_

_P.S. We'll look forward to seeing both of you as well._

Greg leaned back in his chair; he was at work. Rubbing his hands over his face, he sighed out loud and into the empty room. It was a slow night at the Las Vegas Crime Lab. Nick, Warrick, and Catherine were still out on a case. And he suspected that Sara would be somewhere helping Grissom.

_Sara. Oh God. What am I going to do?_

Never, NEVER in a million years would he have expected his grandparents to visit him in Las Vegas, much less now when he had a fiancée! _Shit!_ This was probably why you were taught in kindergarten to never tell a lie –because it usually led to no good.

Seriously, what the hell was he going to do? He was screwed –and _so_ not in a good way.

Sighing once more, he got up from his chair and went in search of a certain brunette…

_xxx_

"You did what?" Sara exclaimed, as she advanced forward with a knife in her hand.

The knife was evidence so Greg was pretty sure that she wouldn't use it on him. Nevertheless, he still backed up. Better safe (and not bleeding) than sorry was his motto. He had found Sara in the evidence room where she had been helping Grissom with a cold case file. While he was debating on how best to get Sara alone, Grissom stepped out of the room, mumbling something about needing to find a book in his office, and it had given him the perfect opportunity to talk to Sara. He wasn't sure how long he would have to explain to Sara before Grissom returned so he knew that he needed to talk fast.

"Okay. I'll tell you everything but, um, Sara would you first put down that knife? Please?" Greg asked, hands in the air, palms outward.

She looked down, seemingly surprised to still be holding the knife in her hand. She placed it back on the table.

"Sorry, Greg. Now, start explaining," she demanded, arms crossed against her chest.

"I told my Nana and Papa Olaf that I was engaged to you," he repeated.

"I got that part –loud and clear. Care to tell me why, when, what the _hell_ were you thinking?"

"Well, I told Nana that I met a girl," Greg said and then added, "a beautiful girl."

"Flattery gets you nowhere with me, Greg. Continue."

"It's true, Sara. Anyway, this was a few years ago. I had a crush on you at the time," Greg admitted, blushing slightly.

Sara softened and let her hands fall down. "Greg…"

"Let me finish, Sara. The guys ragged on me quite a bit, but that's Nick and Warrick for you. You probably didn't even notice, but that's okay. You only had eyes for Grissom. When the two of you finally got together no one could have supported you more or been happier. You and Grissom –well, you two belong together. And that crush that I had…it turned to love. I do love you, Sara. But I realized that I love you as a friend, nothing more. And as your friend, I want you to be happy, and anyone with eyes can see that being with Grissom makes you happy."

"Greg, thank you." Sara stepped forward and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "However, that still doesn't explain things completely…"

"Okay. So, I already told you that I mentioned you to Nana? We email back and forth since snail mail would take forever. Well, my Nana worries about me 'in this big, bad city.' She was always telling me that she would feel so much better if I had a nice girl to settle down with and who would take care of me. I, uh, emailed her one day and told her that I had a girlfriend. Sara, she was so happy. She was like now I don't have to worry so much…"

"And you told her that your girlfriend was me? Is that right?" Sara questioned.

"Yeah." He continued quickly, "I figured it would be easier to talk about a real person that I knew than to make up some fictional girl that I was dating so I wouldn't get the details messed up in my head."

"Okay. I actually understand your convoluted logic, which is kind of scary. Maybe I've just known you too long. Still, how did we go from dating to being engaged? And why are you confessing your sins now since you've obviously had me as a pretend girlfriend for some time?"

"See, what happened was that Nana had a heart attack a while back. Sara, I don't think that I have ever been so scared in my life when I found out. I was all set to turn in my notice to take a vacation to go visit and to take care of Nana when I got an email from her, telling me not to come and that she was okay. She told me that it did her heart good to know that I had a great girl, and she didn't feel like she needed to worry so much about me. Despite her assurances that she was okay, I still talked with Papa later and he told me that her heart wasn't doing well. And, well, before I even thought it through, I sent her an email saying that I had got engaged. The thing is I never expected my Nana and Papa Olaf to come to Vegas! But they are, three days from now, on Thursday! Sara –I know I have no right to ask this of you…but would you please pretend to be my fiancée?"

"You want me to lie to your grandparents, Greg?" Sara asked. "And pretending to be your fiancée, well, there's a _lot_ wrong with that…"

"I know. I know, Sara. I just don't know what to do. I love my grandparents so much, and I'm worried that if I tell Nana the truth it will cause her heart problems. Both she and my Papa Olaf are old, and I can't stand the thought of anything happening to either of them…"

Sara looked at Greg, standing in front of her, pleading. He really was a great guy. She adored him, actually. She often thought of him as a younger brother, always getting into trouble and she, being the older sister, would be the one to look out for and to take care of him. Over the years, she had heard him speak fondly of his grandparents. She knew he loved them. She couldn't believe she was actually considering agreeing to go along with Greg's crazy scheme but she knew that Greg would do anything for her if she ever needed help –that was the type of person he was. Taking a deep breath and mentally questioning her sanity as well as worrying about what Gil would say and think, she said, "Okay. Let's just say that I do agree to this –how will it work exactly?"

"Really? Seriously? You'll do it, Sara?" Greg exclaimed, running toward Sara and lifting her off the ground, hugging her tightly in his happy exuberance.

Sara laughed. "Greg! Put me down, please."

Greg quickly obeyed and stepped back from Sara. "You are the best! I owe you, Sara!"

Grissom, unnoticed by Sara and Greg since they had their backs to the door, walked back into the evidence room while Greg was still speaking. He walked directly to Sara and wrapped his arms around her waist, not saying a word. Sara didn't have to turn around –she knew who it was and automatically leaned back against him. Grissom placed a small kiss on the back of her neck, causing her to smile and to place her arms on top of his. With Sara still in his embrace, Grissom glanced up and looked at Greg. "I happen to think that Sara is the best as well. But why do you owe my wife, Greg?"

* * *

A/N4: What, what? Sara and Grissom are married? Seriously?! Yep, that's right! At least in this story they are…and I love it :) 

A/N5: If you want, then I can give out sneak peeks for the next chapter (like I do w/ Memories). So, on that note, please review and tell me what you think :)


	2. Chapter 2

A/N1: Just in case anyone has any doubts, this is a GSR story with a Sara/Greg friendship. Also, I plan to set the story in 7 chapters. The story starts on a Monday (Ch.1) and ends on a Sunday (Ch. 7) or at least that's my thought-processing atm. Thanks to everyone who is reading this, and I hope you enjoy the chapter!

A/N2: This chapter is not beta-ed, so I apologize for any mistakes.

Disclaimer: No. I still do not own CSI.

* * *

_Tuesday: Early Afternoon. At Grissom's house…_

The sunlight was streaming through their bedroom blinds when Sara began to awake. She stretched lazily and opened her eyes to see Gil's blue eyes staring at her. "Hi."

"Good morning, sweetheart," he said as he gave her a kiss hello.

"Mmm," Sara moaned into his mouth. Breaking the kiss and propping herself up on her elbow while her other hand reached for his to link their fingers together, she said, "I love waking up to you. It's my favorite part of the day."

Grissom smiled as he brought her hand that he held to his lips and placed a gentle kiss on top of her hand. "Any time I'm with you I consider it the best part of my day."

"You are the best husband. You do know that, right?" Sara asked, staring intensely into her husband's eyes.

Grissom wasn't quite sure what brought Sara's question on, but he was willing to go with the flow of the conversation. "Hmmm…you might have mentioned that a couple of times," he replied, smiling. "Just to let you know, I happen to think that you're the best wife a man could have…"

She seriously hoped that he would keep thinking that after she told him about Greg's idea. Last night after Gil had questioned why, she quickly intervened and told Greg that she would talk to him later (where she told him to let her handle Gil –something he readily agreed to). Then she had distracted Gil by asking him what he had found in his book.

There was no easy way to begin this particular conversation. "So, um, do you remember walking in when Greg was saying that he owed me one?"

"Yeah. If I recall correctly, then neither of you ever answered my question," Grissom said, frowning.

"Well, first, will you promise to let me explain fully without interrupting?" Sara asked.

Growing a bit concerned but still willing to agree to Sara's request, he said, "Promise."

Mentally hoping for the best, Sara began to explain to Gil what Greg had done. "…and so his grandparents are coming in Thursday and he wants me to pretend to be his fiancée."

Grissom got up from the bed and stood. "No way! Absolutely not, Sara."

She was momentarily distracted because Gil was wearing her favorite pair of boxers. There was just something about seeing Gil in boxers that had dancing spiders on them that was irresistible. Refocusing, Sara saw that Gil was muttering to himself and pacing their bedroom floor. "…kick Greg's ass…he's insane… my wife, take my wife!…needs head examined…another thing coming to him…"

Rising from their bed, Sara walked over to him. "Gil, honey. What Greg did was definitely wrong, but he did it because he loves his grandparents. I don't want to be the cause of upsetting his Nana and risking her health…"

"Sara, honey, it wouldn't be your fault. Greg had no right to lie."

"I know, Gil. But if I could make Greg's grandparents happy, then I want to. I don't really have any family except for you and the team. Gil, you _know_ that Greg would do anything for you if you ever needed help. He looks up to you so, yeah, maybe he's a bit misguided but that's why we love him."

"Sara, it's insane," he protested, weakly.

Sara could tell that he was softening. She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his waist and laid the side of her face against his chest so that she could feel the steady beat of his heart. "It will only be for a few days," she said softly.

"Okay, okay. For the record, though, I don't like this…" Grissom said and then kissed the top of her head.

_xxx_

_Later that evening at the Crime Lab…_

Grissom walked into the break room where Greg was sitting, chatting with both Nick and Warrick. "Sanders –in my office, now!" he demanded before he turned on his heel and left without another word.

Greg paled as he pushed back his seat and stood. "If I'm not back in half an hour, then send out a search party for my body, please." Then he exited the break room as well.

Warrick and Nick looked at each other, both clearly confused by what had just transpired.

"What the hell?" Warrick questioned.

"I have no idea. Grissom looked pissed and Greg looked as if he was about to head –no pun intended –to a guillotine," Nick said.

"Maybe, we should find Sara…"

"And tell her what's going on? Yeah, good idea."

_xxx_

The door to Grissom's office was shut. _I bet he did that on purpose –to make it look uninviting…_ Swallowing hard a couple of times, Greg got up the courage to knock on the door.

"Come in." Grissom's voice could be heard saying through the closed door.

Taking a deep breath (hoping to calm his racing heart), Greg opened the door. "You wanted to see me?"

"Yes, I did. Shut the door and take a seat, please," Grissom said, indicating the sofa in his office. While Greg sat down, Grissom turned in his chair to face Greg and propped his feet on top of his desk. "I hear that you're trying to steal my wife…" He wasn't about to make it easy on the kid.

Greg tried his best not to squirm under Grissom's piercing stare. "Grissom, I…" he began but trailed off when he heard the doorknob being turned.

Both he and Grissom stared at Sara as she opened the door to Grissom's office. She appeared slightly out of breath. Greg seemed to visibly relax when he saw Sara standing in the doorway while Grissom's eyes remained unreadable.

Moments earlier, Nick and Warrick had found her talking to Catherine. Warrick said that Grissom seemed mad while Nick said something about Greg, a guillotine, and Grissom's office. She hadn't stuck around to hear the rest. Gil had seemed okay with everything before they left for work. Or, well, as okay as one could be when one was essentially loaning out one's wife to be someone else's fiancée, especially if that person was Greg. Still, she figured that she should go see what was going on in Gil's office. "What's this? An impromptu meeting and I wasn't invited…?"

"I was just about to go over the rules with Greg," Grissom said aloud.

"Rules?" Sara and Greg questioned, simultaneously.

"Yes. Rules. There _will_ be rules, Greg, if you wish to borrow my wife. First of all, there will be no kissing…"

"Aww, Gil. You're taking the fun out of this," Sara pretended to pout. Gil glared at her. "Just kidding, sweetie," she quickly amended.

"That's fine, Grissom. Absolutely, positively fine. But, um… maybe you wouldn't mind if I gave Sara a kiss on the cheek –brotherly, of course –since she's supposed to be engaged to me, after all…"

For a few moments, Grissom seemed to contemplate this. "Okay, I will agree for the sake of pretenses that you are allowed to kiss Sara's cheek only. But you're allowed to do this only three times over the course of your grandparents' stay…"

"Only three times?" Greg protested but seeing Grissom's scowl he quickly acquiesced. "Okay, fine. That's fine. Seems perfectly reasonable, actually."

"Next. No touching of my wife's chest or her behind. I will be watching you so don't even think about taking advantage of the situation…" Grissom threatened.

"Oh, man," Greg thought. _Grissom is pretty freaking scary. Who knew?_

Up until this point, Sara had been standing against the closed door but now she walked over to take a seat by Greg. Leaning over, she whispered, not so conspicuously, "It's okay, Greg. I'll touch your butt…" Sara looked over at Gil and grinned, cheekily.

Grissom frowned while Greg tried not to appear happy at the thought of Sara touching him. "Sara, do you need rules as well?"

"No, honey. I'll behave. Promise," she said. She had never seen this side of Gil before -this jealous and possessive side. She was her own person and although she was married, happily, she still considered herself to be independent, to a certain extent. Nevertheless, she would be lying if she didn't admit to herself that she found this new side of Gil a bit endearing and incredibly hot. She couldn't wait until they were alone again…

Over the next ten minutes, Grissom went over the rules of 'dating' his wife.

When he had concluded, Greg appeared nervous and a bit green. "Uh, Grissom, do you think that you could, uh, give me a copy of those rules?" There were so many he wasn't sure he could remember all of them.

"Of course, Greg. I'll have them typed and printed for you before the shift is over. I'll even highlight the extra important ones for you…and tomorrow, I'll quiz you."

"Uh, thanks. I appreciate that, and I do really appreciate you agreeing to this, Grissom."

Sara had been fairly silent during Gil's entire rules speech, only offering a few words here and there. Finally, she said, "Greg, where are your grandparents going to stay?"

Greg looked at her, seemingly startled by the unexpected question. "I guess my place…I don't want them to have to worry about getting a hotel or anything." He shrugged.

"Greg, I have seen your place and, no offense, but it's the biggest bachelor pad there ever was. And where would your grandparents sleep? You only have one bedroom," Sara said.

"Well, I was going to let them sleep in my bed, and I was going to take the couch."

Sara laughed. "I don't think your grandparents will be too comfortable in your twin bed from your college days with your matching Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles sheets and comforter…"

"Hey, now," Greg protested. He happened to like his TMNT sheets. _What's wrong with liking crime-fighting turtles, huh?_

"Sara, how do you know what kind of sheets Greg has?" Grissom questioned a moment later, frowning again.

"Calm down, sweetie. I was over at Greg's place one day with Nick and Warrick and his guest bathroom was being used so I went to use the restroom in his room. Is that okay?" she asked and waited to see Gil's nod. She continued, hesitantly at first because she was unsure of how Gil would react to her idea, "I was thinking that maybe Greg's grandparents should stay at our house because I think it would be more comfortable for them. And, uh, Greg could pretend that he lives there, too." She spoke the last part extremely fast. She couldn't believe she was actually suggesting that Greg move in, even temporarily, but she did say that she would go along with everything for the sake of Greg's grandparents.

"Hey!" It was now Grissom's turn to protest while Greg said, happily, "Sounds good to me. When do I move in?"

"Sara, I am _not _going to move out of our house and let Greg move in. I did _not _agree to that," Grissom said, removing his feet from resting on his desk and sitting up straight in his chair.

Sara was ready for the argument and she had already thought about it some. "I was thinking that you wouldn't move out. You could stay…"

"What? That doesn't look right. I can't have another man in my house. What would Nana and Papa Olaf think?" Greg questioned.

"Greg, it is _my_ house," Grissom corrected.

"Well, not for the next few days…" Greg responded.

"Greg!" Grissom yelled, rising from his chair and walking toward the couch. Greg scooted closer to Sara, hoping she would protect him.

Sara knew that she needed to quickly diffuse the tension. There was _way_ too much testosterone in the air. "Boys! That's enough. Gil, sit down," she said. When he remained standing in front of Greg, she repeated, "Sit down. Please?" Sighing, he did as she asked and returned to his desk chair. Next, she pushed Greg away, forcing him to move back over.

"Hey," Greg objected, rubbing his arm.

"Hey yourself. Greg, don't act like I hurt you. And what your Nana and Papa will think is that you're such a good young man," Sara said.

"Why would they think that exactly?" Greg asked. "Not that I disagree, of course…"

"Because you're going to let your boss live with you…because we'll say that, um, Gil had a kitchen accident. He caught his kitchen on fire, and he needed somewhere to stay while he's having his townhouse worked on," Sara said, pleased with her idea.

"I'm not that bad of a cook," Grissom complained, sullenly.

Sara laughed. "Sweetie, it's okay. You can't be perfect at everything. We all know that I'm the culinary genius in our relationship. Remember the first time you invited me over and you promised to cook me dinner? You confessed later that you had a vegetarian gourmet meal planned to impress me with and it all went terribly wrong? You ended up making grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup…"

"I thought you said that it was the best grilled cheese sandwich you had ever eaten," Grissom said.

Sara laughed again. "Oh, it was…after I ate around the slightly burnt parts." Seeing Gil frown, she continued, "No, the sandwich was great and do you know why? It's because you took the time to cook for me."

"You're welcome and I will cook for you anytime you want me to," Grissom offered.

"Um, maybe I'll take a rain check on that –permanently? Do you remember that one time when you let an egg explode? It smelled for days in our kitchen!"

Greg laughed along with Sara. He was enjoying this little side trip down memory lane.

"Sara, don't be telling all my secrets…" Grissom said.

"Okay, sorry. Sorry, I didn't mean to embarrass you. Anyway, what do you think, Gil? Would that be okay with you? If you stayed in the house that is…? We have three bedrooms. I was thinking that Greg's grandparents could stay in the bedroom that's by itself on one side of the house. And, uh, you could move –temporarily –into the guest bedroom down the hall from the master bedroom where Greg and I supposedly sleep…" Sara tried not to shudder too much at that thought…it was just _so_ wrong.

Greg grinned. The plan sounded good to him.

"Well, as long as it's understood that you're sleeping with me in that spare bedroom," Grissom said.

"Of course, I wouldn't have it any other way. For appearances sakes, I'll just pretend to sleep in the master bedroom, but I'll sneak out and into your room. No one will be the wiser."

Both Grissom and Greg agreed the idea sounded like it would work. Grissom was happy because it meant that he could keep a close eye on Greg. And, well, Greg was just happy that Grissom wasn't killing him yet.

After a bit more discussion, Greg left, leaving Grissom and Sara alone.

Sara stood from where she had been sitting on the couch and walked over to Gil. Before she sat down on his desk in front of him, she gave him a long kiss and then said, "You do know that I love you very much…and that the only butt I want to be touching is yours?" she asked with a mischievous grin.

Without any warning, Grissom pulled her off his desk and into his lap, causing her to screech and to then giggle. "It better stay that way, too," he growled.

Sara wound her arms around his neck while his hands were on her waist, keeping her from falling off. She leaned forward and whispered, "Of course…it's the cutest and sexiest I have ever seen," before she kissed him again.

* * *

A/N3: For those who read Memories, I promise by the end of the week I will send out sneak peeks of Ch. 22 for those who reviewed. Secondly, I promise to try to write some for the story as well.

A/N4: It's that time again. You know the time I'm talking about, right? The one where you review, and then I send you a sneak peek of Ch.3? Yep, that's the one!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I apologize for the delay in updating. Also this is not beta-ed, so please forgive any mistakes.

Disclaimer: At this moment in time, I do not own CSI.

* * *

_Wednesday: Mid-Morning. At Grissom's house…_

Sara woke up alone in bed. Frowning, she ran her hand over the side of the bed where Gil slept and felt it cool to the touch. Then she remembered their lovemaking from the early morning hours, and she couldn't keep the grin from spreading wide on her face.

After she brushed her teeth and put her hair back in a quick, messy ponytail she headed out of their bedroom in search of her husband. She didn't have to wonder where he was for long as a heavenly smell was wafting through the air.

She padded softly, so as to surprise Gil, into the kitchen. He was standing in front of their stove with a spatula in his right hand, wearing only a pair of boxers. Walking up behind him, she wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her face against his back, breathing in his scent. "It smells delicious. I love French toast," she said while her arms still surrounded him.

Grissom turned his head slightly and grinned at her. "Good morning, sweetheart. And I'm glad you love French toast since it is the only thing you have taught me how to cook that I have actually mastered. I was hoping to surprise you with breakfast in bed though," he said as he deftly flipped the bread over in the skillet.

Sara pressed a quick kiss to his shoulder blade before stepping away and leaning against the counter. "Sorry that I ruined your plan. It's the thought that counts anyway so thank you."

Grissom looked over at her again, his beautiful wife and thought for the thousandth time how in the world had he managed to get so lucky to have her in his life? He wasn't too keen on Greg's crazy scheme (and seriously who could blame him?) and having to 'share' Sara for the next few days. But then he thought about it some more –whereas Greg would 'have' her for a few days, he knew he would have Sara for the rest of his life and that was definitely all right by him.

Moving away from the stove suddenly, he enclosed Sara against the counter.

"What are you doing, Gil?" Sara asked even as she leaned closer to him until her mouth was a mere fraction away from his.

"I'm planning to kiss my very beautiful and sexy wife," he said seconds before his lips brushed softly against hers.

A few moments later, she reluctantly broke their kiss. "You're going to burn breakfast if you're not careful, sweetie."

Pressing a quick kiss to her forehead, he backed away from her and moved toward the stove. "I'll make you some fresh French toast later," he said as he took the skillet off the burner and turned off the stove.

"We don't want to start a kitchen fire," Sara teased, smiling.

He replied, huskily, "You're right. The only fire that I want to start is the one right here with you," as he reclaimed her lips and picked her up so that she could wrap her legs around his middle…

_xxx_

_Early Evening…_

Sara had invited Greg last night to come over to her and Gil's house a couple of hours before work to get the house ready for his grandparents' impending visit.

At six o'clock sharp, the doorbell rang. Sara got up from the couch where she had been chilling and lounging with Gil. She knew that for the next few days her house wasn't going to be just hers so she was trying to enjoy the last few moments of solitude with her husband.

She opened the door and greeted Greg. "Hi." He was carrying an armload full of stuff. "Uh, Greg, you're only going to be here for a few days…you do know that, right?"

"Yeah, I know but I wanted to make sure it felt like I lived here and I was comfortable," he said as he walked in.

Sara closed the door behind him and headed to the living room where Gil was now sitting up on the couch. Greg followed her.

"Hey, Grissom. It's good to see you," he said as he sat his things down on the living room recliner.

"Hello, Greg. I would say the same, but I'm not sure I would mean it since you are taking over my house…"

"Gil, be nice," Sara said and then asked, "So Greg what exactly did you bring?"

Taking out a knitted blanket of blue and green shades, Greg said, "My Nana Olaf made this throw for me a few Christmases ago," as he placed it on the back of the recliner.

"It's lovely," Sara said.

"Thanks," he replied as he pulled out more things. "I also brought some pictures of you and I that I have taken over the years…and some pictures of the team together as well." He started placing the frames around the living room, including an 8x10 photo of him standing behind Sara with his arms around her and kissing her on the cheek (he had surprised her and Catherine had taken the picture at the opportune moment –needless to say, it was one of his favorite photos).

"Hmm…I guess that probably means I should remove the pictures of Gil and I and place them in the bedroom he and I will be sharing?" Sara asked with a smile while gathering a few frames to put away.

"Yeah. Do make sure you take the wedding pictures of you two as well…Nana might get a bit suspicious," Greg said, grinning.

Sara laughed and made her way over to Greg's bags, intending to help him unpack his things. "Did you bring over clothes and toiletries to last you a few days?" she questioned as she searched through his belongings.

"Yeah, I have them in my car. I'll go get them on my next trip out," Greg replied.

"Greg, what is this?" Sara asked, trying hard not to grin. She was holding a sock monkey that looked both well worn and well loved.

Greg had been busy placing a few of his books on the living room's coffee table. He had brought a book on the history of Las Vegas along with the latest Harry Potter book (because who wouldn't want to be a boy wizard?) and a _Where's Waldo_ book (that guy was seriously hard to find).

When he heard Sara's question, he glanced up immediately. "Hey, you weren't supposed to find Snufflelump!" he exclaimed, taking the monkey away from Sara and hugging it protectively to his chest.

"Snufflelump?" Grissom repeated, smirking. "Greg, do Sara and I need to go buy a nightlight for you to use when you go to bed or did you think to bring your own from home?"

Sara giggled as Greg glared at Grissom. "Haha. Very funny. No, I don't need one, and I did not bring one either. I'll just turn the bathroom light on and shut the door partway…" When he saw that both Sara and Grissom were trying not to laugh, he continued, "Hey, it's a brand new place to sleep in –there's nothing wrong with wanting a little extra security at night…"

Over the next forty-five minutes or so, Sara and Greg (with a little assistance from Grissom) made the house look as if the house was owned by Greg as well.

"It looks pretty good, I think," Greg said, coming back into the living room. He had just carried and placed his toiletries and suitcase that he would be living out of in the master bedroom. Looking at his watch and noting the hour, he continued, "I guess it's about time to head into work although we might be a bit early. That's okay though since the boss appreciates timeliness." He grinned and then asked, "Are you two going to head out as well and follow me into work?"

Sara replied quickly. "No. Gil and I have a date…" Seeing Greg's confused look since he already knew they were both scheduled to work that night, she grinned and continued, "In the bedroom."

Grissom had been sitting on the couch but rose and placed a quick kiss on Sara's mouth and turned to Greg, grinning. "She's so demanding…" Leaning in, he whispered into Sara's ear only loud enough for her to hear, "But I love it." Then he literally swept her off her feet and into his arms, causing Sara to shriek and fall into a fit of giggles as he carried her out of the living room and toward their bedroom.

Greg was still a bit shell-shocked by what had just happened in front of him. Finally, he managed to regain his voice and he shouted after his boss and his pretend-fiancée, "Haven't you guys ever heard of T.M.I.?"

_Geez, I really don't need or want those images in my head…_ Realizing that he had just been left, he showed himself out of their house, which would become his home as well for the next few days. _Shit, I hope Sara does the laundry before tomorrow night…_

_xxx_

_Later. At the Las Vegas Crime Lab…_

"Sorry, we're late. We got stuck in some traffic," Grissom said as he walked into the break room with Sara, whose hair looked a bit tousled.

Greg had been sitting in the break room at the lab for the past fifteen minutes along with Catherine, Nick, and Warrick. "Traffic?" he asked aloud with a smirk.

Prior to taking the empty seat beside Catherine, Sara stopped behind Greg's chair and leaned down to whisper for his ears only, "You might want to be a bit more careful with what you say, Greg. I am doing you a huge favor. You also might want to remember that I know where you'll be sleeping for the next few nights." She then straightened and sat next to Catherine and smiled in greeting to her friends.

During the next few minutes, Grissom gave out the night's assignments. He paired Sara with himself, wanting to spend as much time with his wife as he could (even if it was just working on a case). Before the team rose to leave, he stopped them. "I think that Greg has something he wants to tell all of you…"

Greg didn't realize that Grissom was going to put him on the spot, so to speak. He began hesitantly, "Um, my Nana and Papa Olaf are coming to visit… and I, uh, told them that Sara was my fiancée."

"You did what?" Catherine yelled.

"Oh, man," Warrick murmured aloud while Nick said, "No wonder Grissom was so mad the other day."

"Explain now. Please," Catherine demanded.

"Okay, so it's like this…" Greg continued to fill his friends in on the details with them (i.e. mainly Catherine) interrupting every few minutes with further questions and comments.

"You're going to let your wife pretend to be Greg's fiancée?" Nick asked Grissom, disbelieving.

"Trust me, I'm not thrilled about it," Grissom muttered.

"Nick, there is no 'letting' me. I can think and act for myself. I do it quite often actually. Furthermore, I am _not_ a piece of property," Sara said.

"Sara, I didn't mean it like that…or, well, not exactly…" Nick returned quickly.

Grissom walked over and stood behind Sara's chair and placed his hands on the chair above her shoulders. "Sara is right. This is something she wants to do for Greg. Although I might not be thrilled with the situation, I love my wife and, most importantly, I trust her to make her own decisions."

Turning slightly in her chair so that she could look at her husband, Sara smiled at him. "Greg's grandmother isn't doing well. If this will make her happy and not have her stress unnecessarily about her grandson, then I'm more than happy to do it."

Greg had been quiet for the past few moments, but finally he spoke as he looked at both Sara and Grissom. "I really, truly appreciate this so much…probably more than you two will know. My Nana means the world to me, and she really is the best person I've ever known in my life…"

Grissom broke the silence that had settled in the room a few moments later. "So, does anyone have any more questions about this little charade that we'll be partaking in over the next few days?" he asked and then continued, "Before we go solve some crimes?"

Catherine spoke up. "I do. I have one very important question that has not been raised tonight."

"Yes?" Grissom asked, curious because he thought that they had already covered everything important.

Catherine continued as she rose from her chair, "Greg, why the _hell_ did you not tell your Nana that I was your fiancée? Am I not young enough? Not sexy enough…?"

_xxx_

Ten minutes later (after finally walking out of the break room where Catherine was still badgering Greg about his choice of fiancée), Sara followed Gil to the lab's parking lot to head to their crime scene for the night.

Reaching his Denali, he opened the passenger door for her and spoke a barely audible, "Ow."

Sara turned around immediately to face him, concerned. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Nothing, I'm just not sure if my knees and back can handle any more extra-curricular kitchen activities in the future," he replied with a shy grin.

Laughing, she wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a kiss. "I'm sorry, baby. I promise that next time I'll take it easy on you…"

* * *

A/N2: I felt the chapter was a bit short (and I wanted a bit more GSR in here), so I added the first and last scene. However, this is what happens when I have too many stories going on at the same time … I completely forgot that I made Grissom a bad cook in this story (so as to make up for what I'm doing to Sara in Holy Smokes)! But I liked the scene too much (because I find it amusing to reference another story of mine) so I just added that bit on how Grissom did learn how to cook French toast at least lol...hope you don't mind!

A/N3: Reviews make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside…and yes sneak peeks are available as well.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: This is not beta-ed, so please forgive any mistakes.

A/N2: This is the longest chapter to date, so enjoy! Also I have never been to an airport in Las Vegas so for the sake of this story the airport has a McDonalds...

Disclaimer: Okay, okay…fine…I do not own CSI or any of its characters. Satisfied, TPTB? I do however own the words written below.

* * *

_Thursday: Mid-Morning. At Grissom's house…_

Gil Grissom woke up to find his wife already awake and sitting up, leaning against the headboard to their bed and playing with the rings that adorned her ring finger. "Good morning," he said, making her aware he was now awake.

"Good morning," she responded as she lay back down on the bed, facing him. She smiled at him, but it didn't quite reach her eyes.

"What's wrong?" he asked, brushing stray strands of hair away from her face. He could sense that something was bothering her.

For a moment, she didn't respond. Her eyes were on her left hand where she was again playing with her engagement and wedding rings. Finally, she looked back up and into his eyes. "I know this may seem kind of silly, but I don't want to take my wedding ring off. I know I have taken it off before for work so that I wouldn't get it messed up, and I know it's just a piece of metal technically…but it's…" She stopped mid-sentence unable to find the words that could express how she was feeling. She adverted her eyes, once more.

Staring at her, he took her left hand in his. He said her name once then twice. When she lifted her eyes to meet his, he then brought her hand to his mouth and placed a gentle kiss near to where her rings were. Softly, he whispered, "I know, honey. It's so …much more than just a circular piece of metal." He didn't like taking off his wedding band either, even for work. He never expected to feel this way in his life, but he knew he wouldn't trade anything for it in the world. Some might see a wedding ring as just a ring. But for him it was a symbol of their love and of their promises they had made to each other.

"I should have known that you would have understood," she said, blinking back the tears that had formed in her eyes. "Sorry, I'm a bit emotional this morning. I'm just nervous about the whole situation…" Getting out of bed, she said, "I know what I'm going to do."

Sitting up in bed, he asked, "And that would be?"

She walked over to her jewelry box and began searching through it. With her back to him, she replied, "I have a long silver chain that I'm going to put my wedding band on. I'll just place the chain under my shirt, and this way I'll still have my ring with me at all times." She found the chain and gently removed her wedding band while still keeping her engagement ring on her finger.

"Sounds good." He had already decided that he would wear his wedding band until he was around Greg's grandparents and then (and only then) would he take it off.

Before she placed it on the chain and before she turned around, Sara read the inscription that Gil had surprised her with by having it engraved on the inside of the band._ Ut nos ed duos, nos es eternus. _It was the toast that he had made to her on their six-month anniversary date, a day she would always remember as it held special meaning in her heart for more than one reason.

Smiling, she turned around and walked over to the bed. Sitting beside him, she kissed him. "I love you."

He smiled. It was something he never tired of hearing or of telling her. "I love you, too."

After another quick kiss, she said as she rose and headed toward their master bath, "I need to start getting dressed, I guess. Greg will be here soon enough to pick me up. I'm just going to go grab a quick shower…"

A few moments later after she had stepped under the warm spray, Sara heard the shower curtain being opened and heard the whispered warm breath in her ear say, "I thought you might want some company…"

She grinned as she turned, thinking that it was a good thing that she knew how to get dressed and ready in a time crunch. Wrapping her arms around him, she said, "Only if you promise to wash my back," before she kissed him…

_xxx_

_Afternoon. At the Las Vegas Airport..._

"Uh, I'm feeling slightly sick," Sara moaned, clutching her stomach. She and Greg had already been at the airport awaiting Nana and Papa Olaf's arrival for close to two hours. Apparently, there had been some bad weather in Chicago and the plane was delayed for an indeterminate amount of time.

"Are you okay?" Greg asked, instantly concerned.

"Yeah, I think so. I think its just nerves…"

"Sara, you have no reason at all to be nervous."

"Yeah, I know it's silly because I'm not really your fiancée, of course…but still I want them to like me," Sara admitted.

"Sara, my grandparents will love you. I'm sure of it," Greg replied. "Would you like me to get you anything? Maybe you need to eat something?"

"Yeah. Um, would you see if you could get me a Sprite? Maybe some crackers –saltines or peanut butter –to snack on as well?" Sara requested while digging into her purse, searching for some money to give to Greg.

Greg rose from his seat and said, "Sara, don't worry about giving me money. As it stands, I owe you and Grissom a lot. I'll go find you something for your stomach. While I'm up I will see if I can find someone who knows how much longer it will be until the flight from Chicago arrives."

She mouthed a tired thanks before Greg headed off into the bustling crowd of people at the airport. As she settled back again in her chair and waited for Greg's return, she realized that she would need to try to remember to call her husband by his last name. She figured it would probably seem odd to Greg's grandparents if she were to go around addressing Gil by his first name (or her personal favorite, Gilbert) while everyone else called him by his last name.

She had already asked Greg earlier if he would refrain from calling her 'honey' or 'sweetheart.' She wasn't sure if he had been planning to but she just wanted –no, she corrected herself mentally, she needed –him to not call her either. It might seem a bit ridiculous to some but those were Gil's terms of endearments for her and she liked that (again she corrected herself, she adored that) and wanted to keep it that way.

Greg had seemed perfectly agreeable. He said that he would rather have a more 'hip' pet name for her like 'sugar dumpling apple pie a la mode.' She hadn't been sure whether she should cry, laugh, or be horrified. She had thought, "Maybe a combination of the three?"

Fifteen minutes later, Greg returned with his arms full. "I come bearing gifts," he said dramatically. "A Sprite for you," he said, handing it to her. He had purchased a Dr. Pepper for himself (it was his drink of choice). "And I found some peanut butter crackers for you. I also bought a chocolate candy bar for later when you feel better."

"Greg, thank you," Sara said as she popped open the tab to her can of Sprite and then opened her crackers. After taking a couple of sips in hopes of easing her nerves, she asked, "Did you find out anything about the flight your grandparents will be coming in on?"

Swallowing the large bite he took from his snickers bar he had purchased for himself, he said, "Yeah, I asked. The lady at the desk said that she thought the flight would be arriving within the next hour or two."

"Well, that's good news," Sara said. A few minutes later, she spoke up again. "Greg, I'm just curious about something. Now that I know, Grissom knows…and, well, the entire lab knows that you told your grandparents that we were engaged to be married –what are you planning to do next since you know you can't lie to your grandparents and say that we did get married?"

"Why can't I tell them we got married?"

"GREG!" Sara exclaimed.

"Okay, okay. I was just joking. I know I can't tell them we got married…I've already tried to think of ways to make that one work and it just doesn't," he admitted, frowning. "Moving on. Seriously, I have been thinking about this some, and I thought that I would just tell them when they got back to Norway that we broke up."

"Don't make me the bad guy," she interjected. "I don't want your grandparents to think that I broke their precious little grandson's heart or anything…"

"Fine. Fine…I'll tell them that it was a mutual break-up. Satisfied?" Greg asked.

"Yes. Thank you."

For the next half hour, they finished their snacks (Sara ate all her crackers and feeling better, she ate her candy bar that Greg had gotten her as well) and talked. Hearing her phone ring, Sara reached for her cell and seeing the name on the screen, she smiled as she answered. "Hello, Gil."

Deciding that he should give Sara some privacy while she talked to Grissom, Greg got her attention and said softly, "I'll be back in a few. I'm just going to go stretch my legs."

She mouthed a quick thanks before he walked away. She spoke back into the phone, "Sorry. Greg was just telling me that he was going to go walk around some." Continuing, she answered the question he had asked before Greg had distracted her, "Anyway, yeah we're still at the airport. There was some bad weather in Chicago, which caused a delay. But they should be arriving shortly. At least, I hope."

Grissom replied, "That's good. I hope that Greg's grandparents will arrive soon as well. Waiting at the airport isn't exactly fun, I know."

"Yes, that's true. Greg has, um, definitely managed to keep me entertained for the most part. I might not be able to show myself at the airport anymore though…" she trailed off as she laughed.

Groaning a bit, he asked, "What has Greg done now?" He was currently sitting at home, missing her.

"Nothing bad. Or, well, nothing illegal I should say. Just a bit embarrassing… there was a group of about six children and they started doing this dance called the Hokey Pokey…"

He thought he recalled a dance about sticking out one's appendages and turning oneself around. "So did Greg tell them that they needed to stop or something?" he questioned hopefully.

"Oh, no. No, Greg joined in. Next he challenged a huge guy that had been sitting next to us for a few 'friendly' games of thumb war…"

"Thumb war?" Grissom interjected.

"Yeah, you know… one, two, three, four…I declare a thumb war?" Hearing silence, she continued, "Anyway, I'm just going to go out on a limb here and say that I don't think Greg will be using his right thumb that much for …oh, the next week or so. Then Greg was hungry –that kid can seriously eat –and he went to the McDonalds in here and bought himself a Happy Meal because the toy inside was a Hot Wheels car. Of course, he had to then challenge a little boy that had his own Hot Wheels car out to a race, which would have been perfectly fine if he had let the boy win once. So needless to say Greg made the child cry, which prompted the child's mother to hit Greg with her purse…."

"Wow. Just wow." Grissom was pretty speechless. Apparently, Greg's insanity knew no bounds. "It, um, sounds like you had a, uh, interesting afternoon so far?"

"You could say that. That was all in the first hour or so that we were here. I told Greg that he better start behaving or I was going to leave. That did the trick, thankfully."

A few minutes later in the conversation, he asked, "Do you still think you're going to come into work tonight?"

"Yeah, I plan on it. I just hope I won't be running too late or anything. I already told Greg that I would take off Saturday but that I would need to work tonight and tomorrow. He was okay with that. Besides, I think he wants to come by and show his grandparents around the lab Friday and introduce them to everyone," Sara explained.

"Okay. Sounds good. I'll look forward to seeing my lovely wife tonight. I've been missing you this afternoon," Grissom told her.

Noticing that Greg had drawn near, she said, "I'll see you later at the lab. I miss you, too. Love you." She hung up the phone after she heard his reply back of 'I love you, honey.'

Greg reclaimed his seat by Sara. He had heard the very end of Sara's conversation with Grissom. "Sara, I just want to tell you again that I really am happy for you and Grissom. I don't think I have ever seen someone as in love as Grissom is with you. You two are very lucky."

"Thank you, Greg. That does mean a lot to me to hear." She could still remember how nervous she had been when Gil and her had finally told the team that they had been dating and were living together. After the team had recovered from the shock, they had all been supportive. For that, she was thankful.

A few seconds later, he continued, "Even though I do think I'm a pretty good catch…"

Sara smiled. "You are a great catch, Greg."

Staring straight ahead, he said softly, "I just really hope that I can find someone that is halfway as great as you, Sara…because from where I'm sitting you're pretty amazing," before lapsing into silence.

Very moved and a little embarrassed that Greg thought that of her, she responded, "Thanks," and leaned over to give him a soft kiss on his cheek.

Greg turned his head toward her and gave her a full-blown grin. "Hey, save those kisses for when Nana and Papa Olaf can see them…"

Sara chuckled. "Greg, you're crazy!"

"But you still love me, right?" he asked, cheekily.

Smiling, she said, "That's still to be determined, actually."

Holding his hand over his heart, Greg pretended to frown and exclaimed, "Ouch! Sara, you wound me!"

For the next twenty minutes or so, the two kept up the friendly banter. Finally, over the speaker, they heard, "Arrival from Chicago, Illinois. Passengers will be disembarking momentarily."

Greg jumped up and paced in front of Sara, a bundle of energy. "I'm so excited. This is going to be so great. Sara, you'll love them, too!"

"I never did ask you but how long has it been since you last saw your grandparents?" she questioned.

"It's been…God, quite a while. I think about nine or ten years," Greg said as he waited for people to start appearing from the arrivals gate. "Look! People are starting to come through…"

Sara stood up to help Greg look although really all she could do was search for an elderly couple.

A few minutes later, Greg exclaimed, "I see them! I see Nana and Papa Olaf!" and took off, leaving her with no other choice but to follow in his wake.

When she finally caught up with Greg, she found him clutching a slim elderly woman. She stood back, giving him time to greet his grandparents without her interrupting the special moment.

Next he hugged his grandfather and then pulled back when he realized that she wasn't with him. He along with his grandparents turned around, facing her.

She began to smile and to say something when Greg's grandmother stretched out her arms and cried out, "Sara!" excitedly.

Before she knew what was happening, she was enveloped into a tight hug. Nana was saying, "You are so lovely. I would have recognized you anywhere. You look just like the picture our little Greg sent us a few months ago…"

Sara was still caught in Nana's embrace but managed to grab Greg's attention and to glare at him and mouthed the words, "You _sent_ her a picture of me?!"

Greg just shrugged sheepishly and mouthed, "Sorry?"

When she was finally let go, Sara stepped back to say something when Papa Olaf grabbed her into a bear hug, squeezing her tightly. "It is so nice to meet you, Sara. You are such a beautiful young woman. Our Greg is a lucky man."

Once more, she was released. She was definitely unaccustomed to such spontaneous acts of affection, especially from people she did not know and didn't really know her except for what their grandson had told them. "Thank you. It's a pleasure to meet both of you as well. Did you have a good trip, Mr. and Mrs. Olaf?" she questioned.

"Oh, please… please call me Nana. I insist," Greg's grandmother said while his grandfather said, "And call my Papa, and the plane ride was long but uneventful. We were able to sleep on the plane though."

Again, she wasn't used to this kind of treatment but she couldn't help but smile at them. They both were holding one of Greg's hands and beaming; it was apparent they were thrilled to be seeing their grandson after so long. "Okay. Thank you. And I'm glad to hear that you two were able to catch some rest on the plane," Sara said.

Greg spoke up after a moment. "Okay, let's go find your luggage. Hopefully, it will be out on the carousel by now."

Twenty-five minutes later, the four of them were busy making their way through the crowd of people and toward the exit of the airport with the luggage in tote. Finally, they reached the outside. "I didn't know if we would ever make it out!" Nana exclaimed.

Sara smiled while Greg laughed. While they had been standing at the luggage carousel to find their suitcases, Sara had extended the invitation to Greg's grandparents that they wanted them to stay at 'their' house with them so they wouldn't have to worry about finding a hotel. At first, both Nana and Papa had protested that they didn't want to cause any extra inconvenience but finally Greg got them to agree to the plan.

Glancing at her watch, Sara realized that she needed to head to the lab. As it stood now she would probably end up being a few minutes late. "Nana, Papa. I hate to do this –I wanted to be able to help you get settled into the house but I really need to head into work. I'm just going to go grab a cab. I'm already running behind schedule…"

"It's fine, Sara. Do not worry. I know we were not able to give you two much of a notice. I am glad you were able to come with Greg to meet us at the airport and I look forward to getting to know you better tomorrow," Nana said.

"Thank you, Nana. I took Saturday off from work so that will be good. Anyway, I'll see both of you tomorrow," Sara replied. _Now comes the slightly awkward part –saying goodbye to Greg, her pretend-fiancé. _She really hoped that his grandparents weren't expecting a lip-lock because she was a married woman, after all. Stepping forward, she hugged Greg. She had, of course, hugged him many times before but it was just slightly weird to have a 'captivated' audience. "Drive carefully and take care of your grandparents," Sara ordered as she stepped back.

"Will do," Greg agreed before Sara walked away and toward the curb where taxis were lined up. He yelled after her, before he headed in the opposite direction with his grandparents, "Have a great night at work, love monkey!"

He saw her turn and wave briefly. He couldn't tell though if she was smiling or grimacing –he would go with the former.

"Love monkey? Is this one of your American sayings?" Papa Olaf questioned as Greg led his grandparents to where his vehicle was parked.

"It's just one of the many pet names that I have for Sara. She loves them… isn't she great?" Greg asked, grinning.

_xxx_

_Evening. At the Las Vegas Crime Lab…_

Traffic had not been heavy so Sara actually made it to the lab fifteen minutes before her shift started. She had already said a quick hello to Judy, who told her that Gil was still in his office.

Reaching his office, she found the door opened and found Gil focused on the paperwork that was in front of him. For a few moments, she stood in the entryway to his office and just stared at her husband. She really was very lucky. Deciding to make her presence known, she knocked lightly on his door, causing him to immediately look up.

When he saw that it was his wife, he smiled.

"Miss me?" she questioned as she shut the door to his office and made her way to him…

* * *

A/N3: Some of you may have been hoping that Grissom would meet the grandparents Thursday, but Grissom had to work. Besides, wouldn't it have been weird for him to be at the airport? Nonetheless, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please review and let me know what you thought?


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: This is not beta-ed, so please forgive any mistakes. Also sorry for the delay in posting an update as I have had several story distractions!

A/N2: I want to thank the lovely Veronika (**22114**) for being my Norwegian insider (lol). According to her, krumkaker are something that every Norwegian grandmother makes religiously, and they are quite delicious as well!

Disclaimer: I claim no ownership of CSI. I just borrow the characters of the show for my own amusement.

* * *

_Friday: Mid-morning. At Grissom's house…_

Sara had just finished sneaking out of the guest bedroom she had shared with him and back into the master bedroom. Feeling lonely that his wife had just left him (for another man, much less), Grissom got out of bed and got dressed for the day himself.

Walking out of the spare bedroom, he headed toward the kitchen to make some coffee for the day. Both he and Sara needed at least one cup when they woke up in order to feel slightly more human and more awake. He figured that Greg's grandparents would still be sleeping. Greg had called Sara last night to tell her that his grandparents were determined to get on the same sleep schedule so that they could make the most of their time while visiting. When he and Sara had gotten home from the lab, the grandparents had just gone to bed while Greg was about to turn in as well.

As he headed back out of the kitchen, he ran into a solid mass. "Sorry," he said automatically and shot out his arm to steady the person as she let out a shriek. Stepping back a moment later, Grissom got his first look at Greg's grandmother. "You must be Mrs. Olaf," he said, stating the obvious.

Before she could answer, Greg came running into the kitchen, shouting, "Nana! Are you okay? What's wrong?"

"Oh, Greg! What's this strange man doing in your house?" Nana asked, stepping closer to her grandson.

Greg grinned while Grissom frowned at being called strange. "Nana, it is true that he might be a little strange…" he trailed off when he saw Sara entering the kitchen.

"Good morning, Nana. Grissom. What's going on?" she asked.

"Oh, nothing much except I keep being called strange," Grissom replied unhappily.

Sara chuckled. "I'm sorry. I don't think you're strange if that helps…"

"Thank you." Grissom smiled at his wife.

Greg was determined to break up the little love fest that was occurring in front of him. "Nana, this is my boss, Gil Grissom," he said.

"Oh! Your boss! The one you told me so much about? The one that you admire and want to be like?" Nana questioned.

"Nana! You're embarrassing me," Greg responded, feeling a bit of heat rise to his cheeks.

Grissom grinned. "Mrs. Olaf, why don't we go into the living room and you can tell me more about what your grandson has said about me?"

"Oh, please call my Nana. May I call you Gil?" she asked, following him.

"Uh. Sure," he replied.

Sara along with Greg joined them in the living room a few seconds later.

"So how come you are staying with my grandson?" Nana questioned.

Sara spoke up. "Grissom, uh, had a little kitchen mishap." She smirked mischievously.

"Mishap?" Nana frowned.

"Yeah, he burnt his kitchen down. He's a _terrible_ cook, Nana." Greg added, "I think he got sidetracked listening to some music or something…"

"Hey…the kitchen just needs a bit of remodeling," Grissom said.

"Yeah, it needs remodeling thanks to you," Sara said, having some fun with teasing her husband. She continued, "Anyway, Nana you know your grandson… he immediately offered to let Grissom stay here," as she took a seat next to Greg although she would have much preferred to sit by Gil or, truth be told, in Gil's lap.

A few minutes later, Papa Olaf came in. "Good morning. It seems I am the last one here. Sorry, I just finished taking a shower."

Introductions were made between Grissom and Papa. "We've heard a lot about you, young man. Greg speaks very highly of you…" Papa began.

"Yeah, yeah Papa. Nana already told him," Greg interjected quickly. Wishing to change the subject, he said, "Do you want to go get some breakfast?"

_xxx_

_Later that afternoon…_

Grissom was in the living room sitting with Greg and his grandparents and listening to them reminisce about Greg as a child when he would come visit them in Norway for the summer. It was highly entertaining, especially the story about how he played naked in their next-door neighbor's daughter's kiddie pool.

Sara was in the kitchen. She had insisted that she must prepare at least one home cooked meal for when Greg's grandparents came because that's what a good fiancé would do. She had told him that she didn't want Nana to think that she would be a bad wife for her grandson. He had replied that it really shouldn't matter because it wasn't like she was marrying Greg for real; she was already happily married to him. She had replied back that Greg's grandparents didn't know that, and at that point, he gave up trying to reason with his wife.

Fifteen minutes later, he stood up. "I'm going to get something to drink. Does anyone need or want anything while I'm up?" he asked.

After they all said no, he made his way into the kitchen. Sara was busy chopping some vegetables and had her back to him. He wasn't thirsty; he had just wanted to see his wife alone. Earlier, he had declined the offer of going out with everyone for breakfast, figuring it would seem weird to have the boss tag along. When they had gotten back from breakfast and a bit of sight seeing, they had all hung out together and he hadn't been able to have any time alone with Sara.

He softly snuck up behind his wife, wrapping his arms around her. "Something smells delicious…"

Turning around with her back against the kitchen counter, she wound her arms around his neck while his hands rested on her waist. "Thanks. I've got some things cooking already," she said.

"I was talking about you, but the food smells good, too." He smiled.

"Aren't you a sweet talker?" she asked, grinning as well.

"I might have been called that once or twice," he teased back.

"One question for you… did you wear that shirt on purpose?"

"What? This old thing?" he questioned innocently.

"Don't give me that! You know this is my favorite shirt of yours. It brings out the blue in your eyes…"

"Hmmm…maybe I remember that…" He grinned wickedly. "I was hoping to steal a kiss from my beautiful wife…"

"No," she immediately responded.

"No?" he repeated.

She smiled. "You don't have to steal any kisses from me. They're free and always available," she said before kissing him.

"Mmmm, you taste good," he murmured a moment later.

Sara admitted shyly, "Yeah, I was craving some chocolate so I ate a couple of those Andes mints. I love them."

"I've never been a big fan of mint, but I think you might have just changed my mind, Mrs. Grissom. Here…why don't I kiss you again just so I can make up my mind?"

"So, this will be like an experiment?" she questioned.

"Yes, an experiment."

"And you'll gain no pleasure from this research, right?" Sara teased.

"I will absolutely not derive any pleasure, I promise. It's all very scientific…"

"Well, anything for science, right?" she grinned before she brought her lips to his once more.

Breaking the kiss a few moments later, he said, "And don't give me a hard time about wearing this shirt. You know how I feel when you wear those jeans…"

"Oh? These old things?" she inquired teasingly.

"Very funny, Sara. You know that those jeans showcase your backside…"

"What is it with men being so enamored with women's behinds?" she questioned.

"Hey, I don't know. The only one I'm interested in is yours…"

"Good answer," she laughed as he picked her up and sat her on the counter, continuing their kiss from earlier.

An undetermined amount of time later, they were still locked in the heated embrace when Greg walked into the kitchen. After clearing his throat a few times and receiving no response, he finally said, "Stop making out with my fiancé!" startling both of them and causing Sara to accidentally knock over a couple of dishes.

Grissom stepped to the side of Sara after he helped her down from the kitchen counter. "She's my wife. I can kiss her if I want," he replied defiantly.

"Yeah? Well, what if Nana walked in instead of me? Her heart isn't good. Remember?" Greg retorted.

Sara immediately felt bad. "Greg, I'm sorry. I can't help it sometimes…Gil is just so damn kissable."

"Aww, thanks honey. I think you're pretty damn kissable, too," Grissom replied with a quick grin. Sara grinned back. Both had already forgotten that Greg was in the room.

"Okay. OKAY! ENOUGH! Enough fluff you two!" Greg demanded.

"Fine, Greg. I'll try to control myself," Sara graciously offered.

"Do that," Greg agreed just as Nana walked in and asked, "Is something wrong? I thought I heard noises or something breaking?"

"Oh. Nothing's wrong, Nana. Grissom just knocked over a few dishes. He is such a klutz in the kitchen…I swear he needs to be banned…" Sara quickly explained, shooting her husband a quick apologetic look.

"Okay, I get the message. I'm leaving now," Grissom said, as he began to back out of the kitchen.

Nana followed with Greg. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

Grissom stopped and turned around. "What?" he asked.

Nana inquired, "Didn't you go into the kitchen to get something to drink?"

"Oh. Right. I got distracted. I'm not thirsty anymore," he answered as he retook his seat on the living room sofa next to Papa Olaf. "Yep. I got distracted by my very beautiful, sexy wife…" he thought with a smile.

_xxx_

_Early Evening…_

"Sara, everything was wonderful. You are a great cook," Papa Olaf declared after eating the last bite of his dessert. They were all sitting at the dining room table, enjoying the meal she had made.

For dinner, she had prepared a salad, garlic and herb breadsticks, and eggplant Parmesan while for dessert she had made tiramisu layer cake.

"Thank you, Papa." Sara blushed slightly at the compliment. She was sitting by Greg, and Grissom was sitting across the table from her.

"Yeah, my fiancé sure knows how to cook. She puts Giada de Laurentiis to shame," he said boasting and leaned over to kiss Sara on the cheek. He placed his hand on hers briefly.

Sara smiled slightly at Greg.

Grissom, though, was still unhappy with the situation so he leaned back in his chair and said with a smirk, "Yeah. I agree that her _husband_ will be one lucky man…"

Meanwhile, Greg was feeling dangerously daring so he draped am arm around Sara's shoulders, drawing her near.

"Greg…" Grissom began with a low, ominous voice.

Since she was unsure what her husband was about to say, Sara quickly interjected. "Greg! Why don't you help me clear the table?" she asked and then turned to look at Nana Olaf. "Your grandson is the absolute best," she gushed.

Greg frowned and raised an eyebrow. "I am? Well, of course, I am…"

Trying to keep a straight face, she continued, "Yes. He insists on doing _all_ the dishes –even the ones that I got dirty while cooking. By hand, nonetheless…he told me that he doesn't believe in using the dishwasher…" _Hah! That will show Greg not to mess with my man…_

"Oh, yeah. I wouldn't want my little snuggly bunny to have to get her hands dirty or anything," Greg said, rising from the table and picking up some dishes to take back into the kitchen.

_xxx_

_Later. Still at Grissom's house…_

Nana re-entered the living room, carrying two boxes in her hands. She gave one box to Greg and sat the other one down on the coffee table. "Open it," Nana said, still standing.

"I love presents," Greg stated cheerfully, as he opened up the package. When he saw what the box contained, he smiled and shouted, "Krumkaker!" and jumped up from the couch and hugged his grandmother tightly. "Oh, man. You are awesome, Nana! I love you!"

"You are welcome." Nana explained, "These were Greg's childhood favorite cookies. I always send him a batch for his birthday each year."

"Sara, you have to try one," Greg said, holding out the container of cookies with one hand. "These are simply amazing. My Nana rocks at baking!"

"I'm a bit full at the moment so I'll try one later," she replied.

"Okay, but I just want to give you fair warning that there might not be any left later. I can eat an entire batch in a day if I let myself. That's why you have never tried them before since I had already eaten them," Greg admitted.

"I brought extra…" Nana began.

"Really? Awesome! Thanks, Nana," Greg exclaimed.

"I did not make the extra ones for you, Greg. I made them for your friends at work."

"Nana," Greg whined. "Those are supposed to be _my_ cookies…"

"Greg, did you miss the day in kindergarten where you were supposed to learn the value of sharing?" Sara questioned, laughing.

"Fine. Fine, I'll share… but I won't be happy about it," Greg grumbled.

_xxx_

_Evening. At the Las Vegas Crime Lab…_

"Okay, Nana and Papa… the building in which you are about to enter is a sacred place," Greg declared as he opened the door to the Crime Lab for his grandparents and Sara. "Let's go!" He was excited to finally have a chance to let his grandparents see what he did.

Stopping by the reception desk first, he introduced his grandparents to Judy.

Passing by the closed door of Grissom's office, Greg said, "This is Grissom's office…but you don't want to go in there –it can be a bit scary."

"Greg! Sara!" a familiar female voice could be heard shouting. They all turned to see Catherine hurrying to catch up to them.

When she did, Greg said, "Nana. Papa. This is the lovely Catherine Willows." He was still trying to get back into Catherine's good graces.

"Mr. and Mrs. Olaf, it's a pleasure to meet you," Catherine responded with a smile for Greg's grandparents.

"Please call me Nana, Miss Willows."

Catherine looked at Sara, who just smiled and shrugged. "Okay, Nana. You can call me Catherine. I was just heading to the break room. The guys should already be in there." Turning to Sara, she added, "Grissom's already in there as well."

"Great. I'll finishing taking you on a tour after you meet everyone," Greg told his grandparents as they all walked down the hall.

Entering the break room a few minutes later, Catherine and Sara both sat down.

Greg greeted everyone. "Hey! Nick and Warrick I want both of you to meet my two favorite people in the world…after my fiancé of course," he added with a quick grin.

Nick whispered to Warrick, "Looks like someone is trying to get some brownie points…"

Warrick replied back, "But it's not like he can cash them in or anything," and glanced up to see Grissom glaring at them. _Shit._ He punched Nick's arm to get his attention, and they both stood up to greet the Olaf's.

Again, Greg's grandmother and grandfather insisted on being called Nana and Papa, respectively.

"I brought some cookies I made for all of you. They are called Krumkaker and are traditionally Norwegian. I wanted to bring a little something of Norway to all of Greg's friends," Nana said, opening the container and placing it on the break room table.

Everyone immediately grabbed a cookie to try.

After devouring his second cookie, Nick hugged Greg's grandmother. "These are amazing, Nana. Thanks."

For the next few minutes, they conversed until Papa said, "We were so happy to hear that Greg had gotten engaged. It was a lovely surprise for his grandmother and I."

Nick quickly spoke up. "Yeah, we were all pretty shocked, too."

Greg glared at Nick. "Well, I'm sure that Grissom needs to hand out the assignments for the night shortly so…"

Sara stood up since it would be expected (again) for her to say some sort of goodbye to her fiancé. This time she had a bigger audience, making it more awkward if possible.

Greg decided to take charge of saying goodbye this time and came around to her and gave her a hug.

"What? No kiss on the lips?" Nick questioned with a smirk.

Greg knew full well that Grissom would kill him (and derive great pleasure from doing so) and leave his body in a million little pieces if he even tried to kiss Sara in that fashion. However, that did not mean he was going to miss an opportunity of having some fun at his boss' expense. Giving Nick a disapproving look, he said with all the seriousness he could muster, "Sara and I do not believe in public displays of affection. We prefer to keep those things in the privacy of our bedroom." He winked at Sara.

As Grissom took a step forward, Catherine quickly and inconspicuously got up and laid a hand on Grissom's arm to restrain him. Under her breath, she said, "Grissom," warningly.

Meanwhile, Sara had a semi-horrified look on her face. "Greg!" she hissed.

"Aw. Come on, Sara –don't be so shy. She embarrasses quite easily," he told everyone. "I'm sure that both Nana and Papa realize that we're both adults…with adult needs…" As much as he knew he should probably shut up, Greg couldn't help himself.

Sara not so subtly jabbed Greg with her elbow into his right side, causing him to try not to wince in pain.

"Greg! That is enough! Do not tease your fiancé like that. You should know better. Be a gentleman," Papa scolded.

"Sorry. I'm sorry. That's true. Sara, forgive me?" he asked, whimpering like a puppy dog.

Sara tried to keep a straight face and not smile. Finally, she said. "Fine. Just behave from now on. Okay?"

"I will. Promise." _Or at least try to…_

As Greg and his grandparents got ready to leave and finish the tour of the lab, Catherine asked, "Where are you going to take your grandparents tonight, Greg?"

"Oh, I think we're going to go do a bit of gambling! Be like some high rollers! Papa needs a new pair of shoes!" Greg exclaimed excitedly.

"New shoes?" Papa questioned confused. "Greg, I do not understand. I do not need any new pair of shoes. The ones that I am wearing are fine."

Greg laughed as he put his arm around his grandfather. "Papa, it's just an expression –saying that we hope to win big sort of thing…"

"Oh. Well, I want to win two pairs of shoes," Papa said, causing everyone in the room to laugh.

The team said their goodbyes and wished the three of them lots of luck in their gambling endeavors for the night.

"Have a good night at work. I'll miss you, my little chocolate streusel. I'll see you later… in bed," he tossed over his shoulders before he quickly exited the break room with his grandparents.

A couple of seconds later, Nana must have smacked Greg on the arm for his comment because they could hear Greg say from the hallway, "Ow! Nana that hurt…"

Sara sighed out loud and walked over to where her husband was still standing and gave him a kiss on the lips. "Thank you for your restraint in not killing Greg. I swear I don't think he'll ever learn…"

Grissom just shook his head.

"So, uh, chocolate streusel?" Catherine asked, chuckling. "What kind of pet name is that?"

"One that Greg came up with," Warrick replied.

Grissom spoke up, smirking. "It's better than Snufflelump…"

"He called you that?" Catherine asked, guffawing. "And you didn't kill him, Sara?"

"No, Greg did not call me that. Gil, you should be ashamed of yourself –bringing that name up in mixed company," Sara said.

"This is the guy that just said he would see you later _in bed_. Do you really think he deserves your sympathy at the moment?" Grissom asked skeptically.

Sara contemplated this for only a moment. "True," she replied and began to tell her friends how she and Gil had come to be introduced to Snufflelump.

By the time she had finishing telling the story (with a healthy bit of embellishment, of course), everyone was laughing hysterically. Nick and Warrick both were crying because they were laughing so hard.

"Oh, wow. Thank you, Sara. Thank you! That was …hilarious. Priceless. I can so imagine Greg sleeping with a stuffed animal actually, which is a bit creepy to have that image now stuck in my head," Warrick said with a shudder.

Finally after everyone had calmed down, Grissom got down to business and handed out the night's assignments. As he began to leave with Sara, who he had assigned with him again, Nick spoke up. "Uh, Grissom? What about me?"

"Yes? What about you?" he asked.

"You gave everyone an assignment for tonight except me," Nick responded.

"Oh. Did I? Hmmm. How forgetful of me," he said. "Oh, yes. I remember now. You're on decomp duty tonight and for the next month," Grissom stated smugly.

"WHAT? What did I do to deserve that?" Nick complained out loud.

"Let me refresh your memory, shall I? 'Greg, why didn't you kiss her on the lips?' What were you thinking?" Grissom glared before walking out of the room. _Being the boss man rocked sometimes…_

_xxx_

_A couple of minutes later. In the Lab's parking lot…_

Sara had caught up with her husband as he reached his Denali. "Have I told you how incredibly hot I think you are when you're jealous…?"

* * *

A/N3: I have to be honest (in a story about lying, lol) and tell you that I really enjoy writing this story so I do hope that you're enjoying reading it. Feedback is appreciated, even if it's about something that you don't like (please criticize constructively though)! With that being said: please let me know what you think about the chapter! Sneak peeks are available.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Hopefully, everyone is pleasantly surprised (and thrilled) that _Faking It_ is finally back. I want to say thank you to everyone for all the continued interest in the story; it _does_ mean a lot. Also this chapter is not beta-ed, so please forgive any mistakes.

Disclaimer: I claim no ownership of CSI. However, I do claim ownership of the words written below.

* * *

_Saturday: Early Morning. Grissom's House._

Knocking on the door to her husband's temporary room, Sara paced nervously. Greg and his grandparents had gone to bed when she and Grissom had arrived home. Still, she worried Nana Olaf might suddenly wake up and decide that she wanted a glass of water and see her sneaking into 'another man's room.' That would prove to be hard to explain.

After what felt like forever (but, in actuality, was mere moments), she heard footsteps drawing near. "Hey, it's me. Open up," she whispered.

However, her husband was feeling mischievous (taking a page out of Greg's book apparently) and whispered back, "Only if you can tell me the password."

"Password? What password?" Sara muttered. "Um, please?" she asked a few seconds later with hope in her voice.

"No. Try again." He even made a noise that sounded like a buzzer.

"Gil! This is _so_ not funny. If I get caught…" she trailed off then resumed, "Just let me in."

"That's incorrect, love."

How the hell was she supposed to know the password? "Is it 'Gilbert Grissom is a sex god?'" _If all else fails, then appeal to vanity…_

When she was met with silence, she thought, "Damn it," until the door opened to reveal a grinning Grissom.

"It was actually, 'Well, monkeys do it,' but I like your guess better so I decided to allow you entrance into my lair," he said, leering suggestively at her.

"You're insane!" she said as she pushed him into the room then turned to shut and lock the door.

He advanced toward her until her back was against the door and kissed her.

A few moments later, she warned as she giggled softly, "Shhh, we got to be _extra_ quiet because my fiancé is in the room next door."

He raised his left hand for her to see that he was wearing a ring and said, "That's okay. I'm married," before recapturing her lips and carrying her to bed.

_xxx_

_Much, Much Later…_

"Sara? Honey… honey," Grissom spoke softly, stroking a hand down her arm. "Sweetheart, you need to wake up."

Her response was, "Go away," before she turned over to her other side and snuggled deeper under the covers.

Grissom shifted his position, until his chest was against her back and he placed an arm loosely around her side. He nuzzled her neck and spoke into her ear, "I would much rather lay in bed with you all day, but we have company remember?"

"Mmmm…sleepy," she murmured as she turned to face him, slowly opening her eyes.

"Good morning, sleepy head."

"Morning." She yawned as she got out of bed slowly.

He watched as she picked up her clothes that had been scattered on the floor and put them on again. As he leaned back against the bed's headboard, he enjoyed the view.

Sara yawned again. "You know, this is your fault…"

"What _exactly_ is my fault?" he asked. He felt it would be better and more efficient in the long run for him to ask rather than to guess.

"Me being so tired! I blame you for keeping me up all night."

Gil Grissom had the audacity to grin. "I would say that I was sorry, but then I would be lying," he replied, as his smile grew wider.

"You're incorrigible…you know that, right?" Sara questioned with a hint of laughter playing in her voice.

"Maybe. But, then again, you still love me."

Sara walked over and sat on the bedside next to him. "Yes," she spoke softly, running a hand through his hair before resting the palm of her hand on his cheek. "I do love you, very much so," she said, leaning forward to give him a kiss to prove it.

A few minutes later, she reluctantly began, "I should probably leave and head to the other bedroom before Greg's grandparents wake up." Stopping in front of the door, she turned and looked back at him and smiled. "I guess if anyone asks why I'm so tired today I could tell them that my husband is a sex god and kept waking me up in the middle of the night to have his wicked way with me."

"You could," he stated solemnly before he gave her a devilish grin. "They do say that the truth shall set you free…"

She just laughed as she opened the door. "You are incorrigible," she said and left.

_xxx_

_An Hour Later…_

"So, how did everything go last night at the casinos?" Grissom inquired. Everyone was sitting in the living room after waking up and dressing for the day.

"Nana, tell them what happened," Greg requested.

"Well, Papa and I were on a lucky streak last night. I guess you would call it beginner's luck or something? I played one of those machines where you have to pull down the lever. What are they called again?" Nana asked aloud.

"Slot machines," Sara supplied.

"Yes. Thank you, dear," she turned and smiled at Sara before beginning again. "We had been there for a little while, and we were soaking up the atmosphere. I was too nervous to try anything, afraid that I would lose my money. Greg –he's such a sweet boy –told me that the key was for me to set a certain limit at the beginning and stick to it. Papa and I decided we would only spend a hundred dollars combined. Greg took me over to the nickel slots, and I pulled the lever…and bells and whistles started going off. I swear it scared me at first!"

"It was crazy," Greg interjected. "Nana won a thousand dollars on her first try!"

"Wow," Sara agreed.

"And then Papa played that game where you have to throw dice…"

"Craps?" Grissom asked.

"Yes. Funny name for a game though, don't you think?" Nana queried.

Everyone smiled.

"Anyway, Papa won some money, too…"

"It sounds like the evening was a success," Sara said after Nana had finished her story of the night's adventures.

"It was, and I insist that we all go out to eat somewhere really nice to celebrate. My treat," Nana declared. "Gil, I expect you to come as well. No excuses."

_xxx_

_At the Restaurant…_

"Ah, this is a lovely place," Papa stated, after they were all seated at their table and their drink orders were taken.

"The food here is excellent. At least, that's what I have heard," Greg said.

While waiting for their food to arrive, Nana decided to bring up the topic of her grandson's impending matrimony. "Sara…"

"Yes?" she turned to face Greg's grandmother, who was sitting next to her. Greg, of course, was on the other side of her.

"There's been so much to talk about and so much going on that I haven't really gotten to ask you much about the wedding. I was wondering how much wedding planning you and Greg have done?"

Sara had just taken a sip of her water, so she tried to disguise her choking.

Greg leaned over and patted her on the back.

She smiled her thanks at him before shooting a quick, nervous glance at Gil. "Wedding plans?" she repeated slowly. "Um, yeah, we've talked about it some…obviously. Uh, what do you want to know?" _Oh, hell._ _This is going to be awkward…_

"What size of wedding do you want to have?" Nana questioned.

"Small," Greg said since he was thinking of Sara's wedding to Grissom while Sara said, "Big," thinking that was what Greg would have answered he wanted. They looked at each other and chuckled nervously.

Nana continued, "Well, do you have a date set yet?"

"No," Sara said, relieved to have an 'easy' question.

"Are you leaning toward a particular season to get married in?"

"Spring," Sara responded, thinking that Greg would again think of her wedding to Gil. Greg, however, replied, "Summertime."

"Um, we might need to talk a bit more," Sara said, blushing slightly.

Papa agreed. "Communication is key to a good marriage," he said, placing a hand over Nana's and squeezing it briefly. She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek and beamed.

A few moments later, Greg spoke up. "I do know one thing for sure…"

"What is that?" Nana questioned.

"I want my best man to be Grissom," Greg declared while Grissom let out a muted, strangled cry and Sara looked both amused and stunned.

"Oh! Isn't that so lovely," Nana stated, oblivious to the inner workings of Grissom and Sara's minds.

"It's something all right," Sara murmured under her breath. Her fake fiancé was asking her real husband to be his best man in a pretend wedding that was never going to take place. Honestly, did it get much more convoluted than that?

Catching Gil's eye, Sara indicated to him that he should say something in acknowledgement. He cleared his throat before he spoke, "Uh, thank you, Greg."

"No problem, Boss. Or should I start calling you 'Best Man' already?" Greg inquired, grinning widely.

Nana saved Grissom from replying by asking, "Sara, have you bought a wedding dress yet?"

_How to answer that? Yes, Nana… I have a wedding dress because I'm already married to that guy sitting across from me. Uh, probably not the response Nana Olaf was expecting…_ "No, not yet," Sara answered instead.

"Oh," Nana said.

In Grissom's mind, he was picturing Sara as she walked down the aisle toward him and remembering all the emotions that were going through him at the time. "I'm sure that there will never be a more beautiful bride than Sara," he murmured softly.

Sara's eyes locked with his, and she smiled. She was also recalling walking down the aisle toward him. "Thank you."

The food arrived, and they moved onto different topics, which Sara was eternally grateful for.

Midway through the meal, Grissom's phone rang. Checking the number on his cell phone, he rose from his chair. "Excuse me, please," he said before leaving the table. Moments later, he returned.

"Is something wrong?" Sara questioned.

"It was the Crime Lab. I need to go into work early; there's some things I have to deal with," he answered.

"Do I…" she began.

"No. Don't worry about coming in. Stay with Greg and spend time with his grandparents since they leave tomorrow. I can handle things," he returned.

"Thanks," Greg acknowledged. "I appreciate it, Grissom."

Papa asked, "Do we need to leave now and take you to work?" On the drive over, they had all ridden in one car.

"No, thanks. I can call a cab. Enjoy the rest of your meal. Nana, thank you so much for the dinner. I'm sorry I have to leave." He was halfway bent toward Sara to give her a kiss goodbye when he remembered himself in time and straightened up. "I'll, uh, see you all later," he said before leaving the restaurant.

Soon after he left, dessert was ordered and brought out.

"Sara," Nana Olaf began again after taking a bite out of her dessert. "I was thinking that with living in Norway I will miss out on a lot of the wedding preparation things." She paused and took another bite of her dessert before continuing, "What do you think about going wedding dress shopping together today?" she asked, excitement building up in her voice.

For the second time that day, Sara choked on her water. "Shopping? Wedding dress shopping?" she squeaked.

"Yes, unless you and Greg have something else in mind for us to do?" she questioned. "But truly it would be so, so wonderful to be part of the experience, Sara…"

Greg spoke up. "It sounds like fun, Sara. Papa Olaf and I can go do something manly while you two women shop…"

She was trapped. "Okay, yeah. Yeah, sure we can do that, Nana. We'll, uh, go dress shopping while the boys go do their own thing. It will be fun…" _It can't be too bad, right?_

Nana's eyes lit up, and she clasped her hands together. "Oh! This is going to be so great!" she exclaimed. "Let's hurry and finish our dessert so we can leave."

_xxx_

_Late Afternoon…_

They pulled up to the Something Blue Bridal Boutique and parked. Greg leaned over toward Sara, who was sitting next to him in the passenger seat, and said, "Thanks," softly before he spoke louder, "Papa and I'll come back later for you two. Have fun."

"Thanks. We'll see you later," Sara replied, getting out of the car along with Nana.

As soon as they entered, a young buxom blonde swooped down upon them, making Sara feel uneasily like a bird of prey. "Hi!" she chirped and shook Nana's hand first before grabbing Sara's. The blonde brought Sara's hand up to her face to study her engagement ring. "Oh my God! You are soooo lucky! This is such a bea-u-tiful ring! Like seriously! And, like, trust me I know because I see rings on a daily basis. I swear some girls come in, and just between you and me, it's all I can do to keep from saying something like some guys just don't know how to pick out a ring… but yours… yours is nice. Sweetie, he's a keeper," she declared dramatically.

Though she was a bit overwhelmed by the saleslady exuberance (the girl needed to seriously consider cutting down on her caffeine intake, Sara thought), she smiled and said, "Thank you," as she carefully extracted her hand from the girl's grip. "I'll be sure to pass that along…"

"Oh, silly me…I keep forgetting that I'm supposed to introduce myself first! My name's Tiffani, and that's Tiffani spelt with an 'i' not a 'y' by the way." She grinned brightly.

"My name's Sara," she said then added as an after-thought, "without an 'h' and this is my, uh, fiancé's grandmother, Nana Olaf."

"So, are we ready to look at some dresses?" Tiffani asked excitedly. "Is there a particular style of dress that you're wanting?"

"Uh." _What to say exactly? I already have a dress, I'm already married, and I'm just pretending to be engaged to Nana's grandson as a favor to him…so to be quite honest I don't really need a dress..._

Nana explained that she was visiting from Norway, and she wanted to go dress shopping with her soon-to-be granddaughter-in-law so that she could feel like she was part of the pre-wedding experience since she would miss out on a lot of it. Tiffani thought that was "too cool" and pledged to do her absolute best by both of them.

Meanwhile, Sara had inconspicuously taken off her necklace that held her wedding ring and slipped it into her purse for safekeeping. To Tiffani, Sara said, "I'm just _looking _for a dress, no plans to purchase anything today…"

After browsing around the store for a while, Tiffani cheerfully announced that she had taken the liberty to have a dressing room started.

With a small reluctance, Sara made her way with Nana to the dressing room of the store. Arming herself mentally, she decided that she would be a 'good sport' for Nana's sake.

An hour and more than a dozen dresses later, she was beginning to regret her decision to say yes to coming. Nana had just stepped out and followed Tiffani to find some more dresses, leaving her alone for the first time. Figuring she may have a few moments of reprieve, she quickly dialed the one person she knew that could make her smile.

"Hey, honey," Grissom said when he answered on the second ring.

Automatically, her lips rose at the mere sound of his voice. "Hey, can you talk?" she asked in a semi-whisper.

"Yeah, I can. Why are you talking so low? Where are you?"

"Where am I? Oh, you know, I'm just doing some wedding dress shopping with Nana, the usual…"

"Wedding dress shopping, Sara?" he repeated in disbelief. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah, unfortunately I am. Nana is impossible to say no to, which is why I have been trying on one big pile of lacey floof after another…"

His warm chuckle tickled her ears. "Lacey floof? Is floof even a word?"

"If it's not then it should be. What did I get myself into?" She sighed, as she looked at herself in the full-length mirror, swimming in lace and beads.

"Well, I bet you have looked beautiful in all your big piles of lacey floof," Grissom said gallantly.

"Thanks, sweetie. I swear the saleslady Tiffani –and that's Tiffani with an 'i' –is going to drive me insane. For some reason, she thinks since my name means princess I should, of course, want to wear a wedding dress fit for one. I mean do I look like a person who would willingly wear a dress that has a seven-foot train and layers and layers of lace and beads and I don't know what all else…" She shivered at the thought of more dresses to come.

"I'm sorry, baby," he murmured. "I can't even imagine…"

"Yeah, you probably don't even want to imagine… it's scary." Hearing Nana and Tiffani's voices growing louder, Sara whispered back into her phone, "I think I hear Nana coming back. I need to let you go."

"I love you," Grissom said.

"I love you, too. Bye," she responded before hanging up the phone, tucking it back into her purse, and opening the door to greet Nana and Tiffani.

Another half an hour later, Sara decided she was in her personal version of Hell. She was standing in a dress fit for the era of Civil War times with its huge hoop-like skirt. As soon as she managed to get herself out of the dress, she surreptitiously text messaged Greg to call her immediately.

When her phone rang a few minutes later, Sara decided to act surprised. She turned to Nana and said, "It's Greg. I'm just going to step away for a moment for a bit of privacy," and flipped open her phone and squealed into it, "Greg!"

"Hey. How's it going, sweet apple dumpling?" Greg questioned.

She ignored the nickname completely and was about to demand he come get her when she heard some ringing bells. Curious about the background noise, she asked suspiciously, "What are you and Papa Olaf doing, Greg?"

"Oh, I took Papa to an arcade!" he declared excitedly. "We've been racing and competing…it's been so awesome, Sara!"

Sara was completely amazed. She had been tortured for almost two hours, and Greg had been off having fun… that was just like a man!

"Greg, listen to me. I don't care if you're about to set a new Guinness World Record… I want you to rescue me! Now!"

"Uh, well, do you think we could have another ten minutes…" he began but after hearing Sara's frustration, he amended his words quickly. "Uh, never mind… we'll leave."

"That sounds better. We'll be waiting for you," she replied before closing her cell phone. When she walked back toward Nana and Tiffani, she told them the 'sad' news that Greg and Papa Olaf were heading to come pick them up.

_xxx_

_Evening. At Grissom's House…_

After finishing dinner, everyone headed into the living room to relax.

"Oh!" Greg exclaimed all of a sudden, jumping up from the couch. "I forgot something in the car; I'll be right back."

"Okay, sure," Sara said but he was already halfway out the room.

Moments later, he returned and had both his arms behind his back.

"Greg, what do you have?" Sara questioned. She was curious because she never knew what to expect from him.

He shuffled his feet nervously in front of the couch before he said, "I won something for you," as he produced a small stuffed animal he had been hiding and handed it to her.

She took it from him as he sat down on the couch next to her, his body turned toward her.

"I just wanted to give you a little something to thank you for everything that you've done for me." He added softly, "Especially lately."

Sara leaned over and placed a brief kiss on his cheek. "Thank you, Greg. It's a lovely gift." She sighed, as maddening as he could be at times, Greg was truly endearing and an all-around good guy.

Ruining the moment's bond, Greg decided to continue (never knowing when to leave well-enough alone). "And, you know, it's a monkey," he pointed out the obvious, referring to the stuffed animal she now held. "I didn't want you to ever forget that you're my little love monkey…"

_xxx_

_Late, Late Evening…_

Greg and his grandparents had decided that it would be best to go to bed early since tomorrow would be a busy day. After the grandparents had gone to their room, Sara had waited another few minutes before heading to the spare bedroom.

Once she finished her nighttime routine, she climbed exhausted into the bed, snuggling deep under the covers and thinking that she missed her husband. Absentmindedly, she played with her wedding ring that was dangling on the silver chain she wore.

When the phone buzzed on the nightstand indicating a call, she jumped at the unexpected noise but when she saw who it was, she smiled. "Hi. I was just thinking about you."

"Good thoughts, I hope," Grissom teased.

"Yes, of course."

"Are Greg and his grandparents…"

"Yeah, they're in bed already," she told him, knowing what he was going to say. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"Actually, I was calling to let you know that since I went in to work early, I managed to sneak away. I'm heading home now."

"That's nice. I'm glad…I miss you," she murmured before yawning twice.

"Honey, why don't I let you go so you can get some sleep?" he suggested.

"No," she protested weakly. "I'm fine…I'm fine. Will you stay on the line and talk with me until I fall asleep?" she requested softly. "Please?"

"I won't hang up," he promised. "So, how did the rest of the evening go?"

"Um… okay. Greg gave me a monkey…" She yawned again.

"A monkey?" he repeated, completely confused.

"Uh-huh… he said it was because I was his love monkey. But if I was anyone's love monkey… by the way I don't think I like that pet name so don't get any ideas… then I would be yours. And I would have said that to Greg but, you know, Nana and Papa were there," she explained sleepily.

He chuckled softly at her rambling, slightly incoherent speech. She was really out of it. "Uh-huh," he agreed.

"You know what I think?" she asked suddenly.

In her current state of mind, there was no telling. He lowered his voice as he said, "Um, no. Why don't you tell me?"

"Okay. I'll tell you," she said, her words beginning to slur. "I think that after all this is over that you and I should try to find someone for Greg."

"You and I?"

"Yeah, you and I. Greg needs someone to take care of him, Gil." She yawned again. "Hey, wait…why did you start whispering?"

"Because I'm home, and I didn't want to wake up our guests. I thought it might be rude if I did."

By the time he had completed his sentence, Sara heard the door to the spare bedroom open. She closed her cell phone and tossed it to the side as she felt the mattress dip under his weight and felt his chest press against her back as his arm came around to circle her waist.

Placing a kiss to her neck, he whispered sweetly into her ear, "I love you."

"I love you, too," she murmured before she closed her eyes again and let sleep overtake her.

* * *

A/N2: So just to let you know the (main) reason why this story took forever to be updated is because RL has been a vampire and has sucked all my crazy sense of humor from me (or at least that's what I claim). Therefore, please let me know if you liked the chapter or if it just completely sucked (no pun intended on the previous vampire analogy)… but do bear in mind that I can be slightly sensitive… so be nice in your criticism? Thanks!


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: With a great deal of sadness and happiness, I present to you the final chapter of the saga known as _Faking It_. I hope you have enjoyed the ride! This is my birthday present to all of you. Thank you to everyone who has added me/my stories to their list of favorites, for story/author alerts, and for reviews... they have all been so adored. As for my birthday tbh I was all for boycotting it but, ahem, some people wouldn't let me forget about it... but in all seriousness all the birthday love has been wonderful and great so thank you! A special thanks/shout-out to Jen & Kristen for writing me two fabulous birthday fics.

A/N2: As previously stated, this fic is dedicated to my good friend, Veronika a.k.a. 22114 a.k.a. my favorite Norwegian. When I decided that Greg's grandparents were going to visit from Norway, I knew she had to make a cameo appearance…

Disclaimer: Um, TPTB, today's my birthday… so, basically, what I'm thinking is that CSI would make a great gift. Until I get those papers from TPTB, however, I don't own CSI or its characters.

* * *

_Sunday: Early Morning. Grissom's House._

Shooting straight up in bed, Sara bolted to the bathroom and proceeded to empty her stomach's contents an ungodly number of times.

Moaning softly, she shakily stood up and looked at herself in the mirror. Her face was pale with a thin sheen of perspiration coating her forehead, and there were hints of dark circles under her eyes. So _not_ an attractive picture, she thought. Fortunately, her hair had been pulled up in a ponytail so she didn't need to have an emergency jump in the shower to clean up. She redid her hair in a messy bun (as it had been a bit loose) and quickly rinsed out her mouth and brushed her teeth.

Feeling slightly more human-like, she walked back into the bedroom and saw that Gil was still fast asleep. How he could sleep through her puking her guts out (literally, or so it felt) was beyond her. When he finally got into a good, deep sleep, nothing (not even a freight train and tornado combined) could wake him. She envied him since she was a light sleeper.

Before she settled back into the bed, she realized that her stomach was still feeling a bit queasy. So, instead, she decided to go into the kitchen to find something to help settle it.

Quietly as possible, she exited the bedroom after first checking to see if the coast was clear and then made her way into the kitchen. It was about seven in the morning, so a bit early for the others to be up.

After finding a box of saltines in the pantry and pouring herself a small glass of Sprite, she stood by the kitchen counter, leaning against it for support and slowly began eating a few crackers in hopes that she would soon feel better.

She still wasn't feeling that great when Nana Olaf surprised her by coming into the kitchen. "Nana, is everything okay?" Sara asked. "Do you need something?"

"No, no dear. I am okay. I woke up and started thinking about everything that needs to be done before Papa and I leave today. Then I realized that I was thirsty as well so I decided to come and get me a glass of water before I tried going back to sleep," she explained.

Handing her a glass from the cabinet, Sara said, "Don't worry about all the packing. Greg and I will help you two get everything together. We'll get it all finished in time."

Nana beamed. "You are such a sweet girl, my darling Sara. Greg is so lu—" She cut off what she had been saying when she noticed what Sara was eating. "Are you feeling okay? Is that why you are up at this hour?" she questioned, indicating the package of crackers that were lying open on the countertop.

"Oh, um," she paused a moment. Truthfully, she hadn't felt too well lately but she hadn't wanted to say anything and ruin Greg's visit with his grandparents. "I'm just feeling a little nauseous, and I thought that some saltines might help." She waved a hand in the air. "I'm sure it's nothing…" However, as if her body wanted to completely mock her, she felt vomit rise to the top of her throat and, unable to make it to the bathroom in time, she proceeded to throw up in the kitchen's trashcan.

Nana was right beside her in an instant, stroking her back and handing her a wet paper towel to press to her forehead.

She stood and smiled weakly. "Thanks." Tossing the remaining Sprite into the sink, she filled her glass with water and rinsed out her mouth for the second time that morning. Turning around and leaning against the counter, she faced Nana, who was eyeing her with concern. "Uh, I'm probably getting the flu. That actually explains why I've been so tired lately and why my back has been aching…honestly though, I don't understand how one can get the flu in the summer months…" Sara complained.

Nana's eyes were drawn to where Sara's right hand rested, and her eyes widened as a thought occurred to her. "Sara," she began.

"Yeah?"

"Do you think there is a chance that you are pregnant?" Nana questioned, hope evident in her voice at the thought of a great-grandchild.

Looking down where her hand was placed on her stomach, she quickly removed it. "No. No… no. I'm not pregnant." She let out a small, strangled laugh. "That's not… that's not possible. It can't be. I mean, we didn't plan for this to happen…well, at least not right now…" Her voice, however, was beginning to grow weaker and sound less and less certain.

"Sara?" Nana's voice was now laced with worry.

In her mind, she tried to remember the date of her last time of the month. Realizing she was over two weeks late, she slowly sank to the kitchen floor in shock.

Nana rushed to her side and knelt down, grabbing one of her hands and squeezing it reassuringly.

"I think… I might be pregnant," Sara spoke softly. _Oh, my… this wasn't supposed to happen… at least not right now… what would Gil think? _Looking at Nana, she realized that she needed to get her to promise not to say anything. "Nana, please… please, don't tell him," she requested. "Not until I know for sure…"

Hearing the rising panic in her soon-to-be family member, Nana hurried to soothe her. "Shhh, don't worry. I won't say anything to Greg."

_Oh, boy._

_xxx_

Thankfully, Nana went back to her room first to catch a bit more sleep, so she didn't have to go into Greg's room. Instead, she was able to slip back under the covers next to Gil.

She was pregnant. Well, she needed to take a test (or a few dozen tests) plus make a doctor's appointment to confirm her new mom status but since she was very regular, it was a pretty sure thing. All the symptoms she hadn't paid attention to now made sense. It was as if all the little things were signals that were pointing to one gigantic, glowing neon light sign that said: "Yo, you! Yeah, I'm talking to you… guess what? You're knocked up."

Hopefully, Nana would stay silent. She wanted to wait until after Greg and his grandparents and the chaos of the past few days ended to tell Gil what she suspected. She wanted it be just the two of them. Alone and together. She could imagine it now. A nice candlelight dinner, some soft music, a nice meal…

Yeah, it would be perfect, she thought sleepily as exhaustion finally overtook her.

_xxx_

_A couple of hours later…_

"Thank you for the meal, Sara. It was delicious," Papa declared as he pushed back his empty plate.

She smiled as she rose from the table. "You're such a sweet talking man, aren't you?" Sara teased with a grin. "You're more than welcome, Papa."

As Sara began gathering everyone's empty plates, Nana interrupted her. "Sara, do you think you should be carrying all that in your condition?"

"Condition?" Greg and Grissom asked aloud simultaneously.

She stopped in mid-stride of picking up Greg's plate and tried to think of a quick (and, more importantly, believable) recovery from Nana's slip-up. "Uh, Nana just meant the condition that I cooked this fabulous meal for all of you and now I'm doing the clean-up as well… right, Nana Olaf?" She shot a meaningful glance at Greg's grandmother to remind her of her earlier promise.

"Yes. Yes, that is what I meant. Greg, why do you not help Sara?" Nana suggested.

He jumped up immediately, startling Sara into dropping the plates onto the dining room table. Walking behind her, he placed his hands on her shoulders and guided her into his vacated seat. "Here, just sit down and relax. I'll put up the dishes and wash them later," he stated, as he picked up all the plates and utensils.

"Thanks, Greg," she told him when he came back later and sat down again.

"No problem. Anything for you, Bay-Bay." He grinned.

_xxx_

It took them over an hour, but they finally managed to finish packing all of Nana and Papa Olaf's things. Greg placed all his grandparents' suitcases and luggage next to the front door so nothing would be left behind.

"That was a workout," Greg announced, as he took a seat next to Sara on the living room couch where everyone was currently relaxing. They still had a couple of hours left before they needed to leave for the airport.

Later, because her stomach was starting to feel a bit upset again, Sara got up and headed to the kitchen. Munching on a couple of saltines, she poured herself a glass of Sprite, hoping the nausea would pass. As she made her way back into the living room, the doorbell rang and sidetracked her.

Opening the front door, she was surprised to see Nick, Warrick and Catherine and stepped back so they could enter.

As she closed the door behind her, Catherine said, "Yeah, we know you probably weren't expecting us so we hope it's okay we came by. Last night at work, the three of us decided that it would be nice if we came to say goodbye to both Nana and Papa Olaf before they left for Norway."

"That's really nice. I'm sure Greg will appreciate it as well as his grandparents," Sara responded.

Warrick didn't add that they also were hoping for some entertainment.

Sara was right about Nana being thrilled with the extra company.

"So, how was your day yesterday? What did all of you get into?" Nick asked, after they had settled into the living room again. He had brought in two chairs from the dining room table for extra seating.

"I took Papa to the arcades while the girls did some wedding dress shopping," Greg began.

"_Wedding _dress shopping?" Catherine choked out, trying to stifle her laughter while Nick and Warrick both fought hard against the grins that were threatening to form.

On the other hand, Sara tried to hide her grimace. "Yes. Nana wanted to feel as if she was part of the wedding experience, and I just couldn't say no to her."

"So, how was the, uh, dress shopping?" Nick asked. "Find the dress of your dreams?"

Nana launched into a full-detailed review of the experience with Sara providing some added commentary. Mid-way through Nana's speech, everyone was laughing, especially when Sara got to the part about Tiffani with an 'i.'

The conversation and laughs flowed freely.

After Greg called Sara Bay-Bay again, Catherine raised a questioning brow.

"Well, I was going for baby, but it came out Bay-Bay the first time so I'm sticking with it since I kind of like it," Greg said.

Warrick laughed. "It sounds like a kinky version of baby."

Sara groaned and was thankful that Gil was missing this part of the conversation.

Nana spoke up, "I don't know if I can take this anymore…"

_Oh, no. No, Nana… please don't say anything._ "Nana," Sara said as Greg asked, "What are you talking about, Nana?"

Without any further words, Nana exclaimed, "Sara's pregnant!"

Complete chaos happened next.

Unbeknownst to anyone else, Grissom was in the hallway, walking back from the restroom, when he heard Nana's announcement. He immediately fainted. Although the noise he made when he fell sounded much like a tree falling in the forest, no one heard or realized he had fainted due to Catherine's excited screams.

Meanwhile, Sara proceeded immediately to the pot in the living room that held a fake tree and threw up into it.

"Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Oh, my God!"

"Holy freaking smokes!"

"Seriously?"

"Damn, Greg…you work fast, man!"

"Well, it must be true because Sara's currently puking her guts out…"

All of these phrases were being shouted at extremely loud noise levels.

Nick saw that Grissom was on the floor, passed out, and motioned to Warrick to help him help their boss up again and to the couch before Sara realized her husband had fainted when he heard the news.

Papa had left the pandemonium in the living room for the kitchen and returned seconds later with a couple of paper towels and some water for Sara.

"Thank you," Sara murmured and then excused herself for a few moments.

By the time she returned, everyone was sitting down again. Grissom was thinking two things: he was going to be a father and that he really wished everyone would just get out of his house.

"I am so sorry, Sara, but I was too excited," Nana said. "Are you okay?"

"Um, yeah. It's fine, Nana." Well, not really fine since her house was full of people at the moment and all she really wanted was for everyone to be gone and for it to be just her and Gil…but she couldn't say that. Instead, she said, "Just to let everyone know, I'm not positive that I'm definitely pregnant… I mean, I haven't been to the doctors or taken a test or anything yet…"

A few minutes later, Nana began again, "Now I know that the two of you have not decided a lot for your wedding. However, Greg, I really think that you need to make an honest woman out of Sara and soon… you have a little one on the way, you know."

Everyone stared at Greg, waiting to see what white lie he would come up with next, and were surprised when he chose to say, "Actually, Nana, that would make Sara a bigamist."

"Wait, what?" Papa asked while Nana asked, "What do you mean?"

Greg took a seat by his grandmother. This was so not how he planned things going but, in light of Sara's pregnancy (to him puking equaled you're pregnant), he felt he should come clean. He would never want to put any additional stress or hurt Sara in any way. He truly adored her and considered her to be like a big sister to him (of course, he first had to get over his crush on her since, after all, brothers don't crush on their sisters).

He began to explain to his grandparents how Sara was really married to Grissom and that she agreed to do him a favor because of the "lie" he started with and how that one lie just kind of snowballed into this huge fiasco. "I'm so sorry for lying to both of you, but I was so worried about your health, Nana. You two mean everything to me… and, Nana, I know how much you worry about me so I just thought that if you thought I had someone you wouldn't worry so much. Of course, I never expected for you and Papa to visit before I told you the truth…"

Needless to say, Nana and Papa were speechless at first.

Greg looked apprehensive as he asked, "Um, say something, Nana? Please?"

"Oh, Greg. Crazy, wonderfully sweet, darling grandson that you are… I love you. You should know that. I am not happy to be lied to, but I do know that you really did believe that what you were doing was for my benefit. It was misguided, yes. But you did it out of love, and I can see that you have some truly amazing friends since they went along with your scheme. You are very lucky to have them."

"I know, Nana," Greg said. "Thank you for understanding." Looking at his friends, he continued, "And thank you for, like Nana said, going along with my scheme…especially you, Sara, and Grissom."

Before anything else could be said, the doorbell rang again.

Grissom got up, motioning for Sara to stay seated. Opening the door a few seconds later, he was nearly knocked over by a whirlwind of a young woman. She was tall, lean, blonde, and blue-eyed.

He also had absolutely no idea who she was and why she was at his house.

Before he could open his mouth to ask those questions, she asked, "Where is he?"

"He?"

She moved into the living room and was enveloped in a tight hug before she knew it. "Veronika!" Nana exclaimed, jumping up and hugging her. Papa greeted her next and asked, "What are you doing here?" while everyone else looked on curiously.

"I have come here for my Greg," she declared dramatically. "I was out of town on business. When I returned, my mother told me that you two had gone to visit Greg and his fiancée, so I took the first flight available. I didn't have any phone numbers or any addresses, but I knew that Greg worked at the Las Vegas Crime Lab. I actually just came from there. Some creepy man named Ecklie finally gave me directions here after interrogating me for half an hour."

"Creepy is definitely one way to describe him," Nick murmured to Warrick, causing him to laugh.

"Anyway, I am just so happy to finally be here. Now who is Sara?" she asked, hands on her hip.

Throughout Veronika's speech, Greg stayed silent. He was quite shocked to see her. He hadn't seen her in years, not since she was a gangly teenager and he had been going through his own awkward stage (thank goodness he had found his "cool" style because after all spiked mohawks _were _hot). He had always liked her and had a crush on her, but he had also been too nervous to ask her out. She had such an amazing sense of humor, and looking at her now, he would concede that she definitely grew out of any awkward stage she might have had.

"Greg, do you remember Veronika? You liked to play naked in her little swimming pool when you were younger," Nana informed him, causing Greg to groan and the others to laugh hysterically. No, he didn't remember but why must Nana bring up something totally embarrassing in front of the hot babe? It was like Murphy's freaking Law or something…

Greg quickly filled Veronika in on the fact that he really wasn't engaged and retold the shortened version of how and why the lie started. Veronika was particularly thrilled to learn that her man was single and that she didn't have to fight Sara, since she looked pretty tough not to mention extremely nice.

As the two of them talked, Greg quickly became enamored by her charm and wit. "When is your flight back?"

"I bought a one-way ticket to Vegas, actually."

"Oh, cool." _Yeah, that's how you impress a girl… with your amazing sense of vocabulary, Greg!_

"I have some vacation time I could use," she began shyly.

"Well, what do you think about maybe spending some time in Vegas? I can show you the real behind-the-scenes Vegas and the nightlife. And we could get to know each other better?"

"Really? Wow, yes. Yes, I would love to stay…"

Nick, Warrick, and Catherine were all extremely happy that they decided to come over because they hadn't been this entertained in, well, in forever. They said their goodbyes to Nana and Papa since it was almost time for them to head to the airport and left (after Catherine told Sara that they needed to have some girl talk later).

Next, Grissom wished them goodbye and helped Greg and Veronika carry Nana and Papa's luggage to the vehicle while Sara stayed inside to say her goodbyes to Greg's grandparents.

Papa hugged her first and whispered his good luck to her and headed outside.

Nana took Sara's hand and sat down on the couch with her. "Sara, thank you for being so wonderful to my grandson. You really are such an incredible young lady. I hope you will not mind if I still consider you to be family," Nana said.

"Oh," Sara murmured softly. "Nana, you're going to make me cry."

Nana smiled. "Truth be told, if I had paid more attention this weekend then I would have noticed that you only had eyes for one man and that was not my grandson. You have a wonderful, wonderful husband. I wish you all the luck and happiness in the world. Take care of yourself and your little one. I hope you do not mind if Greg keeps Papa and I up-to-date on your pregnancy?"

"Nana, thank you, and yes I'll take care of myself… if I don't, then Gil will make sure that I do," Sara said, rising and giving Nana a hug. "I'll miss you and Papa," she whispered before following Nana outside.

_xxx_

As she shut the front door, Sara said, "Wow. I didn't expect all of that to happen…"

"So question," Grissom began.

Here it comes, she thought as her stomach began to knot up in tension.

"Would you have fought for Greg?"

She laughed. "Well, I do love Greg," she proclaimed and then rolled her eyes playfully when she saw Gil's raised eyebrow look. "Like a younger brother," she continued, "however, I love you more than anything else." Wrapping her arms around his neck, she gave him a soft kiss.

He led her to the couch and sat down, facing her. "So," he began.

"So," she repeated. She wasn't sure what to say since Nana had made her big announcement for her. With everyone in the house, it was completely chaotic so they hadn't had a moment to talk between Greg coming clean to his grandparents to the arrival of the Norwegian beauty coming to claim Greg.

Taking a breath and hoping for the best, she began, "I'm sorry for how things turned out. Nana caught me throwing up this morning, and she mentioned the "p" word. I started calculating timing and all that … and I didn't mean not to tell you… I just wanted to wait until everyone had left… and I don't even know for sure that I'm pregnant, though I am pretty sure I am… but I mean…" She was rambling, and she knew it but still couldn't stop herself.

"Sara, honey." He took her hands in his. "Honey, it's okay." Besides being shocked into fainting (hey, in his defense, it _was _a hell of a way to find out you were going to be a father), he was getting used to the idea. He couldn't quit picturing Sara cradling their child in her arms. He smiled just thinking about it.

"So, what do you think?" she asked, unaware of the breath she was holding while waiting for his answer. _Oh, please… oh, please, be happy… be happy because I'm seriously freaking out inside right now…_

"I definitely didn't expect this news," he began and Sara quickly looked down and adverted her eyes, scared of what he was going to say next. He continued, "But when I met you, I didn't expect that to happen either and now I can't imagine –and I don't want to –my life without you in it. So, what do I think? I think that I'm shocked, scared, nervous, excited… and happy. I _am_ happy."

"You are? You really are?" she asked quietly, raising her head. When he nodded and she looked into his eyes and could see the truth in them, she began to cry.

Wiping her tears away, he whispered soothingly to her.

"I was so scared of what you would think… when I realized that 'this' probably wasn't the flu," she said. "But I'm so happy, too. And nervous…"

Later, they were lying side by side on the couch. Sara's head rested against his chest, and he had his arm loosely draped over her side and his hand resting gently on her stomach.

"I love you," he murmured, "just like I'll love our daughter."

She turned her head slightly and said, "It might be a boy, you know."

"I know," he agreed. "But I have a feeling that it's going to be a little girl."

_xxx_

_Two Hours Later. The Las Vegas Airport._

Nana and Papa Olaf were sitting in their terminal's area. Greg and Veronika had already left them because they couldn't go any further due to the airport's tightened security.

"You know what I was just thinking?" Nana questioned, turning to look at Papa.

Papa smiled because he never knew what his wife was thinking. Even after all these years of marriage to her, she still managed to surprise him.

Nana continued with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Maybe we should stay here in Vegas to give Greg a little push, if he needs it. He's not getting any younger, you know… and Veronika is such a lovely girl…"

FIN

* * *

A/N3: Random fact about me: All the nicknames contained within this story I've been called (yeah, scary isn't it...?). Now, I must decide what to wear tonight… strapless black/white dress or fun/flirty pink spaghetti-strap dress. By the way, question...if one goes to a super fancy restaurant for her birthday dinner, is it "tacky" to wear a tiara? :)


End file.
